Located at the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority’s (TRCA) Living City Campus at Kortright, the Archetype Sustainable House has been involved in various research projects focusing on innovative products and technologies that influence current building practices in sustainable housing. To keep with the home’s sustainable design, the team chose an Uponor radiant floor heating system to help reduce the home’s ecological footprint.
In an Uponor radiant floor heating system, warm water flows through crosslinked polyethylene (PEX) tubing that is either embedded in the concrete, fastened to the subfloor surface or suspended under the floors. The warmth radiates up from the floor to warm objects and people in a room. The designers chose an Uponor hydronic system because water has the capacity to transport energy 3,500 times greater than air to use less energy than a traditional forced-air system.
In conjunction with the radiant heating solution, the team installed a heat-recovery ventilator that uses fans to maintain a low-velocity flow of fresh outdoor air into the house (incoming air stream) while removing an equal amount of stale indoor air (exhaust air stream).
Staying true to the sustainable design, the LEED®-certified home also incorporated features such as ENERGY STAR® appliances, solar panels, double-paned windows, and a water collection and filtration system.