First Eco-house coming to Durham Region

Durham Eco-house breaks ground Saturday

If you were to drive past 575 Lakeridge Rd S. in Whitby you would see a house that is like any other house, except in a year the local residents hope it will be much more then just a house. As of Saturday November 29, 2009 this is the official site of the Durham Eco-House. Bill Hamm who is the Eco-House executive director said, “many people know they can buy a new home that is environmentally friendly, but one of the foals of this project is to show homeowners how their houses can be made “Greener”. We want to showcase and demonstrate what environmental benefits can be achieved (in homes) using retrofits.”

Some of the projects that will “green up” this house include installing a geothermal heating system to installing low-flow toilets and energy-efficient appliances.

The Board members who are overseeing this project include, Mr. Hamm, Michael McKenzie and the homeowner Ivan Flood. The project is a registered not-for-profit build. Mr. Hamm hopes local industry players will donate some of the material needed and he is hopeful he will attain some government grants along the way.

The house is set to be opened to the pubic in spring of 2010. Admission to the property will be free to residents so they can see the retrofits working and see the cost benefits to installing environmentally friendly systems.

To learn more about this project please feel free to contact Mr. Hamm at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

 To read the full article please visit Durham Regions website.