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About R-2000
Every Home Should Be This Good!
Welcome to Natural Resources Canada's (NRCan's) R-2000 Web site, the perfect place for you to:
What Is R-2000?
Developed in partnership with Canada's residential construction industry,
R-2000 is an initiative of NRCan's Office of Energy Efficiency. It's aim: to promote the use of cost-effective energy-efficient building practices and technologies.
Since being introduced over 20 years ago, the R-2000 Standard has set the benchmark for home building in Canada. The Standard is continually upgraded to include new technologies as they become established in the marketplace. And it's flexible enough to apply to any type of home.
R-2000 Homes Are …
- Energy efficient: The R-2000 Standard is based on an energy consumption target for each house and a series of technical requirements for ventilation, airtightness, insulation, choice of materials, water use and other factors. The requirements are rigorous – about 40 percent above building codes. The result is new houses that use at least 30 percent less energy than conventional new houses.
- Comfortable: R-2000 offers Canadians the most comfortable and technologically advanced new homes on the market. They incorporate a whole-house ventilation system and low-emissions building materials and finishes to ensure superior indoor air quality.
- Environmentally friendly: Today, more than ever, an R-2000 home is the right environmental choice. By using less energy, R-2000 houses produce fewer greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change.
- Certified: Building to the R-2000 Standard requires new home builders to earn a licence by taking special R-2000 training. To date:
- close to 900 builders have been licensed to build R-2000 homes
- more than 10 000 R-2000 homes have been built and certified
- Participation in the initiative is voluntary: Home builders who build to the R-2000 Standard do so because they believe an R-2000 home is a better home. Buyers choose them for their superior energy efficiency, comfort and quality.
The R-2000 Standard is …
- Broad-based: Provincial home builders associations, provincial governments, product manufacturers, energy utilities – all are among the wide range of R-2000 partners across Canada. The Canadian Home Builders' Association [This link opens a new window] has been a partner in the initiative since day one and remains an active supporter of NRCan's goals and activities.
- Innovative: While other builder training programs have contributed to the improved quality of new housing, ongoing research ensures that the R-2000 Standard remains at the leading edge of cost-effective energy-efficient construction technology. As a result of R-2000, manufacturers have developed many unique building products, such as heat recovery ventilators (now a $50-million-per-year industry in Canada), high-performance windows, and integrated mechanical heating and cooling systems.
- Respected: As a world leader in energy-efficient housing technology, R-2000 has generated a lot of interest beyond Canada's borders. Today it's licensed for use in Japan.
No matter what style or type of home you're seeking, look into R-2000 before you buy.
R-2000 is an official mark of Natural Resources Canada.
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