From Bleeding Edge to Leading Edge: A Builders Guide to Net Zero Homes

“I’ve done complicated. It’s complicated.”

Residential and commercial buildings account for 17% of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions (Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Canada’s Built Environment; Senate of Canada 2018). In the United States, that figure is roughly 29% (C2ES; Decarbonizing US Buildings by J. Leung 2018). Net Zero homes, which produce at least as much energy as they consume, will play a key role in the current global climate crisis by drastically reducing energy consumption in the housing sector.

Doug Tarry is a leading international authority on Net Zero homes. His company, Doug Tarry Homes Limited, has certified more Net Zero / Net Zero Ready homes (over 400 and counting) than any other builder in Canada. The title of Doug’s book, “From Bleeding Edge to Leading Edge: A Builders Guide to Net Zero Homes”, refers to his complicated and sometimes painful journey to Net Zero.

Throughout the book, Doug offers his first-hand experience on what has worked and what hasn’t in building Net Zero homes, along with expert advice from some of the industry’s leading builders, building scientists and energy consultants. Much has been written about the technical details of building high-performance homes – the “what”. This book goes further and deals with the “why” and the “how”, discussing topics such as holistic design, embodied carbon, the Four Principals of Modern Design, the 100-year home, and climate resiliency.

Written in plain language and infused with humor and storytelling, this book is a must-read for builders, renovators, architects, municipal officials, industry stakeholders and home buyers – anyone interested in the future of home building. It will help builders and their teams get to Net Zero in less time, with far less cost and pain.