Home builder unveils Canada's first hydrogen-powered house in Sherwood Park

Sherwood Park is now home to Canada's first house heated entirely by hydrogen.

The prototype house, called HomeOne, is the first of many planned homes to be built with the same hydrogen heating system within the Brenmer neighbourhood.

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Brad Armstrong, the vice-president of community development for Qualico Communities, told CTV News Edmonton on Thursday HomeOne is the first phase for greener homes in Canada.

"We know that by 2030 the national building code is going to require that all new homes are net-zero ready, and we felt we needed to get ahead of the curve to make this a really sustainable home," Armstrong said.

"We hope to introduce (HomeOne) on a much larger scale in the brand new neighborhood of Bremner ... We plan to start building in 2025," he added.

According to Armstrong, hydrogen heating costs less than solar power, is much cleaner than fossil fuels and doesn't produce carbon monoxide.

When used as a fuel, hydrogen only produces water vapour and warm air.

Justin Pullukatt, the director of system modernization with Atco, said hydrogen can travel along Alberta's existing infrastructure.

"We're leveraging what we do well here in Alberta already within our existing pipeline infrastructure to deliver it to homes," Pullukat said.

"We're hoping to expand the delivery of hydrogen to existing customers by blending with natural gas, but then also (by) building new 100% hydrogen communities," he added.

Even though the home is built, Armstrong said he's waiting for the Alberta government to make the regulatory changes before spring to make hydrogen accessible to old homes and new.

"We're now in a position where we're ready and able to move forward with our first stages of development in 2025," Armstrong said.

The hydrogen-powered neighbourhood could start seeing residents as early as 2026.