Shop for a house like you'd shop for a car

There's a recurring pattern when considering how people buy a house. They visit, admire the kitchen cabinets, the flooring, the island, the living room ceiling height. Then they ask if the appliances are included, if the bathroom has been recently renovated.

The aesthetics of a house matter. But rarely do we ask questions that will truly determine our quality of life for the next thirty years.

What is the insulation value of the exterior walls? What airtightness technique was used? What is the ventilation system, and does it include a heat recovery unit? How have thermal bridges been addressed at structural junctions? Is there adequate ventilation behind the exterior cladding? What materials were used for insulation, and do they have no impact on indoor air quality or our health?

These questions are not esoteric or theoretical. They determine whether a house will be comfortable or uncomfortable, healthy or unhealthy, economical or energy-inefficient, sustainable or not. They determine whether condensation or mold problems will develop in the walls in ten years. They determine whether the structure will still be in good condition in fifty years.

Most buyers don't ask these questions, not because they don't care, but because no one has ever informed them. The real estate industry doesn't often highlight these issues; they're simply not discussed. Conventional builders have no incentive to raise them either. And banks don't require energy performance certification before approving a mortgage, as is the case in other parts of the world.

Yet, there's a simple comparison that says it all. You wouldn't buy a car based solely on the color of the seats and the sound system, without ever looking under the hood, without asking about fuel consumption, engine reliability, or maintenance history. But we buy houses like that every day, across Quebec.

Change begins with curiosity. Asking these questions, even if we don't yet have all the tools to understand the answers, sends a clear signal to industry. And industry, eventually, adapts to the questions we ask it.

For those who want to prepare: request an airtightness test (result expressed in air changes per hour, the famous ACH), ask for the R or RSI values of the insulation, and find out about the type of ventilation system. It's a good starting point!