Wildflowers, low fences and rooftop panels in Okotoks
In mid-2007, just after the last homes were tied into the solar loop, Drake Landing looked like a normal suburb with some deliberate differences. Its yards, fences and garage roofs all pointed to a neighbourhood built around the sun and shared water-saving habits.
Event date: 2007-07-13
A suburb with a few changes
The usual pieces were there: front lawns, white fences, two-car garages. The differences showed up close. Front yards were planted with wildflowers, creeping thyme and drought-resistant grass, fences stood five feet high so neighbours could talk across them, and 800 solar collectors sat on the garage roofs. Rain barrels, sustainably harvested lumber and recycled drywall were part of the build, and the homes were described as about 30 per cent more efficient than standard houses. More on the buildings is on the homes page.
The heat, in plain terms
Collectors warmed an antifreeze solution, which passed its heat to water in tanks. In summer that water went into boreholes about 37 metres deep under a town park and warmed the soil toward 80 C. In winter the process ran in reverse. The system was expected to cover about 90 per cent of heating for the 52 homes, a target it later beat. The district heating loop page explains the pipework.
Prices and demand
The homes had been planned to sell for under $300,000, but a strong Okotoks market pushed resale prices toward half a million dollars. The project had sold out soon after its 2005 announcement, with buyers from as far away as Seattle and Quebec. Residents swapped tips over the fences on furnace efficiency and low-water landscaping.
The town around it
Okotoks had grown from about 10,000 to 17,000 people in five years, while per-capita water use had fallen by about a third and greenhouse gas emissions by a fifth. A community centre partly powered by solar panels was under construction, and in June 2007 a group of central energy planners from China toured the town. Drake Landing later reached a 97 per cent solar share by 2012 and was wound down from 2024; see the results.
Quick answers
What did Drake Landing look like when it opened?
It looked like a typical suburb, with wildflower and thyme front yards, five-foot fences and solar collectors on the garage roofs.
How much heat was the system meant to supply?
The design target was about 90 per cent of space heating for the 52 homes. Monitoring later reported 97 per cent by 2012.
Why did resale prices rise?
The homes had been planned to sell for under $300,000, but a booming Okotoks housing market pushed resale prices toward $500,000 by 2007.