The Geothermal Experience at Woodland Creek, Sooke British Columbia
As we start construction on the 5 remaining geothermal lots at Woodland Creek in the town of Sooke, a waterfront community close to Victoria BC, we can truly say that the innovative approach we took to new home construction has paid off. It has paid off for the homeowners, the environment, the community, and our employees and trades.
Homeowners that purchased the first new homes 4 years ago were risk takers. As early adopters they were willing to try something relatively new. While an established technology elsewhere in the world, individual geothermal or geoexchange systems for single family homes was fairly new to Vancouver Island and definitely a first in Sooke. These homeowners have now benefited from lower energy consumption (over $1,000 per year) and a cleaner, greener, and healthier living environment. Their investment in a geothermal home will increase their resale value and will continue to pay financial and environmental dividends into the future.
The community of Sooke and environment have benefited from a leading edge residential subdivision with a smaller carbon foot print. With an average reduction in energy consumption of about 11,000 kilowatts per home, together each year, homeowners in the subdivision have consumed over 300,000 kilowatts hours less in energy and reduced carbon emissions by 210 tonnes. Imagine that in 10 years the subdivision will have saved 3 million kilowatt hours of energy – that’s 3 megawatts!
Our employees and participating trades have had a long term education in new technology and building green. By using the geothermal systems and employing Built Green accreditation and Energuide rating along with waste reduction, sorting, and recycling, everyone one has been part of a journey of continual improvement. We continue to see this with our team as we adopt new building techniques, use new materials, and adapt to the introduction of the new building code.
We took a risk as a developer to invest in an expensive geothermal project, but we think we have achieved a triple bottom line return socially, environmentally, and financially – and that’s made it all the worthwhile.
Here’s a look back at the start of it all….
About Totangi Properties Ltd. and Woodland Creek
Totangi Properties is a locally-owned and operated property development and land management company established in 1968. Brothers Warren and Blair Robertson worked closely with a talented team of local professionals and the District of Sooke in the creation of Woodland Creek and are committed to creating affordable, high-quality residential properties with lasting homeowner value. For more information, visit www.totangi.ca
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