A MODEL HOME

Reiner Hoyer is an award-winning Toronto contractor with 30-plus years of experience, and his favourite project is the one he built for himself and his wife, Melanie. Hoyer’s house brings together enough leading-edge construction technology that the structure requires no outside supplemental heat. Even when temperatures drop to –10ºC outdoors, the thermometer still reads a cozy 23ºC inside, thanks to nothing more than the incidental heat given off by high-efficiency lighting, small rooftop solar collectors, cooking and body heat. No furnace, no baseboard heaters, no gas fireplace necessary. Hoyer’s house is gorgeous, too. There’s no glass greenhouse look here. The indoor air quality is fresh and healthy, and anyone can build a house like this for 5 to 10 percent more than the cost of an ordinary custom home. All in all, it’s more than a good news story. Hoyer’s building department