In 1989 the "Advanced House" was constructed in Brampton, Ontario as an example of leading-edge energy-efficient and environmentally responsible housing . It is part of Canada's contribution to the International Energy Agency Task XIII Advanced Solar/Low Energy Residential Buildings, which examines innovative methods of reducing residential energy consumption.

Two super insulated houses were built according to the Canadian R-2000 construction manual, in Sendai, Japan. The purpose of the construction is to clarify how much space heating energy is saved in a mild climate, and whether there are any problems related to indoor air quality and humidity in the winter and the thermal indoor environment during the summer, compared with an ordinary frame-construction house. This paper describes the measurement results of indoor temperature, humidity and indoor air quality for the winter and summer seasons, and annual energy consumption 

The energy consumption for heating has in many countries been greatly reduced over the last few years. This is mostly achieved by the use of traditional energy conservation and solar technologies. The total energy consumption, especially in residential buildings, is, however, still large and warrants considerable effort. To obtain a significant further reduction in the energy consumption for heating, and also to reduce the consumption for cooling, ventilation, and lighting, it has become necessary to develop new building concepts.

The Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes, senior committee in a national consensus structure dedicated to the writing of model codes under the auspices of the National Research Council of Canada, is preparing a new Canadian energy efficiency code for new buildings, to replace the Measures for Energy Conservation in New Buildings, published in 1978 and 1983. 

Commission, the UN commission for development and the environment, has recommended a great effort on more efficient energy use, so drastic that the industrial countries would half their use of energy. Already today, it is possible to reduce the energy use in buildings with the help of known and economical technology. The technical committee ISO/TC 163, Thermal insulation, of the International Organization for Standardization, ISO, has produced some of the tools we need in order to determine the energy flows in buildings.