PRO News - April 2023 - PRO Profile Darrell Wentzell Bridgewater Nova Scotia

Meet Darrell Wentzel from Petite Rivière, Nova Scotia

“WHY MEET CODE WHEN YOU CAN EXCEED IT?” After 42 years as a carpenter, Darrell Wentzell still has the passion for his work that he did when he started

Asked to name the biggest technical changes that he’s seen in his career, Darrell doesn’t hesitate. “It’s energy efficiency,” he says. He’s building a 16x24 bunkie on Green Bay the day we interview him. “It’s all triple glazed, has a heat pump, has got Passive House features. The sun will heat the place, mostly, until December,” Darrell says proudly.

In fact, Darrell builds most of his houses with Passive House features. “You may as well not just meet code, but exceed it,” he says. The last highly energy-efficient house he built, when they did the blower door test, had a rating of 0.4. That is the equivalent airtightness of a house with just a loonie-sized hole in the entire building envelope!

Building an entire house to a true Passive House-stamped standard, he’s done that twice. “It costs, but if you go to sell the home—and it’s a Passive House—it will obviously go for more,” Darrell points out.

Meet Darrell Wentzel from Petite Rivière, Nova Scotia

“WHY MEET CODE WHEN YOU CAN EXCEED IT?” After 42 years as a carpenter, Darrell Wentzell still has the passion for his work that he did when he started

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