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31 Independent & Free Press, Thursday, April 15, 2010 Ann Lawlor of Deveraux House shows off the demand water heater tucked under the kitchen sink at Devereaux House, where there are a total of four demand water heaters installed. Photo by Ted Brown Devereaux House: Old house can learn new tricks By JANE FOGAL Special to The Independent & Free Press Devereaux House is an award-winning local heritage project but most will be surprised to learn that the award was for energy innovation rather than heritage. Apparently old dogs can learn new tricks! Recently the Halton Hills Chamber of Commerce chose Devereaux House as its first winner of their Green Award in recognition of the wide array of energy efficient design features. As part of the Town's Earth Week Celebration, the public is invited to tour Devereaux House on Saturday, April 24 to see how environmental features and heritage preservation can beautifully co-exist. This is a fine example of a 19th century farm house that was rescued from a demolition permit four years ago by The Friends of Devereaux House, who volunteered to return it to its former splendor. Devereaux House is a highly energy efficient and comfortable structure which still displays its important heritage characteristics. Conservation was the guiding principle of the project, and the group has applied it in energy use, in water usage and waste management and in the reuse and recycling of heritage materials. The house is a model renovation for homeowners and small businesses to emulate and belies current "wisdom" that heritage buildings must be "gutted" to make them energy efficient. Energy for heat and air conditioning has been minimized by the installation of a zoned, geothermal heating system, insulation values over and above minimum standards and professional restoration of the original wooden windows and custom storms. Water heating requirements have been reduced through the installation of on- demand water heaters at each sink. Energy use through lighting is negligible with compact fluorescent light bulbs and low voltage LED lighting fixtures. These energy saving measures have reduced the HVAC, water heating and lighting costs to approximately $3,600 per year. This compares with projected costs without these measures in the order of $10,000 to $12,000 per year. Drawing water from its own well, Devereaux House is designed for minimal water use. The six-litre and three-litre toilets have the lowest water usage of any traditional water flush system. Wastewater management is similarly leading edge. The septic is a biofilter which uses peat moss as its primary filtration rather than common septic sand. The biofilter has a footprint significantly smaller than a traditional system, and the original requirement of 48 truckloads of septic sand and gravel (along with their carbon emissions!) was reduced to a handful. This beautifully refurbished 19th century farm home will be open to the public on Saturday, April 24 from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. with conducted tours at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. The house is located on Trafalgar Rd., just north of the CNR railway and south of the Halton Hills Public Works Yard. For more information, call Ann Lawlor, 905877-1861 or email ann@devereauxhouse.ca