In honour of national Earth Day 2019, we thought we would share with you the energy efficient building products and practices that go into our homes. Not only do energy efficient homes help out our environment and save you money in the long run, but they also make your home healthier for you and your family.
In addition to building our homes to be visually appealing and structurally sound, we proudly build homes that are practical with energy efficient features that are designed to reduce your environmental footprint and save you money. From the air that you breathe to the systems that you use, your home is safer, healthier, and more durable if it is built with superior, energy efficient building products.
6 things that we do to make sure the homes we build are energy efficient:
1. Energy Efficient Windows
- Our homes feature triple glazed, low e windows filled with argon gas that are designed to maximize the energy efficiency of your home by preventing air and water leakage with their five-seal defense system. To take it even further, all windows and doors are sealed with a top of the line waterproof membrane as well as insulated with spray foam to ensure they are air tight.
2. Air Tight Seal
- You want your home to be as air tight as possible to eliminate drafts and maintain an even temperature throughout your home. This means that it is important to properly seal around all windows and doors, vents and electrical outlets. Our homes come standard with an R60 blown insulation, and we go above the standard building code for our climate by using spray foam insulation on the joist ends for an even more air tight seal. Spray foam insulation throughout the home is an extra that we encourage anyone who is willing to pay a little more up front to do to save a lot more money in the long run. The lower utility bills as a result of an air tight home help with the cost of home-ownership and they also add re-sale value to your home.
3. High Efficiency Furnace and HRV
- An energy efficient furnace with an HRV is an important factor in the air tightness of your home. It contributes to reduced air leakage, which means fewer drafts, less noise, odors, and lost warm air in the winter and cooled air in the summer. An HRV works by providing you with a constant flow of fresh air while recovering the heat from the stale air that is being exhausted from your home. Thereby helping you maintain a more comfortable, healthier indoor environment. A programmable thermostat can help you manage heating and cooling while you’re away or over night. We also recommend and install ‘zoned’ systems when possible in larger homes to allow the thermostat to be set to different temperatures for each zone.
4. LED or Energy Star Lighting
- High efficiency LED lighting is used throughout our homes which not only cuts down on energy consumption, but it also has a longer life span and shouldn’t need to be replaced for up to 15 years. LEDs use less energy than other bulbs which allows them last about 25,000 hours on average.
5. Energy Star or High Performance Appliances and Equipment
- Using EnergyStar rated appliances in our homes is a great way to cut down on energy consumption. As well as energy efficient water heaters, RO systems, water softeners and high efficiency heating and cooling equipment.
6. Water Saving Accessories and Equipment
- Using water saving fixtures in your home such as dual flush toilets and low flow shower heads helps you to lower your water consumption and water heating costs. As well as water saving equipment like your dishwasher and washing machine.
Not only do we use these energy efficient products and practices in our homes, but as a Holmes Approved Builder, we also test them. Each one of our homes are inspected by Mike Holmes approved, third party inspectors who assess the homes at critical stages of construction for energy efficiency. A blower door test is done to show how air tight the home is, and thermal imaging assessments are used to find out if there are any hidden problem areas that are losing heat and need to be addressed. In which case more insulation can be added before the home is finished to make sure it is properly sealed. Providing you with a thorough, transparent record of the quality and integrity that was put into building your home.
All the energy efficient features in our homes work together to be kind to the environment and lower your energy consumption, to reduce your home’s carbon footprint.
Interested in building a new, custom designed home? Read our blog post about 24 ways it pays to work with a builder.