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| Frequently Asked Questions |
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- Can I make my home more energy efficient without a renovation?
- Do you design all your houses with the same look?
- I have discovered that my chronic illnesses are due to chemical exposure. Can you design a 'healthy home' for me?
- Will it cost more to build an energy efficient or healthy home?
- Do you only design and build new homes?
- I want to put solar panels on my roof. What do you recommend?
- I'd like to incorporate passive solar in my new house. Will my house get too hot? Too cold? Be ugly and futuristic looking? Have fussy controls?
- Can I make my home more energy efficient without a renovation?
Absolutely. It is called Retrofitting your home. If you get an Energy Audit of your home, you will receive a list of upgrades you can choose to do to increase your energy efficiency. This list may include things such as caulking, new windows or furnace or new, more efficient appliances. You are then eligible for retrofit grants commensurate with the upgrades you have done and the increase in energy efficiency which you have achieved. However, we are not retrofitters.
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- Do you design all your houses with the same look?
No. We spend many hours with you to design exactly what you need and desire providing you with extensive architectural drawings. We do not just customize one of a few basic plans. Yours will be an entirely custom, delightfully energy efficient home based on meticulous heat load calculations, built with environmentally sustainable building practises to your individual style. We recommend that you assemble a scrapbook of magazine clippings of looks or features that you love, to help us to design the style of your dream.
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- I have discovered that my chronic illnesses are due to chemical exposure. Can you design a 'healthy home' for me?
Absolutely. Our environmentally sustainable building expertise can also ensure that you are protected from indoor air pollutants by avoiding the use of commonly used construction materials and interior finishes which outgas. We routinely ensure constant fresh interior air quality and its monitoring with heat recovery ventilators, meticulously installed vapour barriers, and closed off entryways to prevent outside pollutants and from trailing through the house. We can specify reduced electromagnetic field circuit breaker panels and house wiring, non-toxic roofing, and dustless radiant in-floor heating amongst other healthy features.
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- Will it cost more to build an energy efficient or healthy home?
Everything depends on your choices. Higher initial installation costs are outweighed over time by lower energy bills and by the increased comfort level. There is a wide range of choices and we help you become well-informed by offering you alternatives and recommendations. You can learn more too, by clicking on both our Links tab and our Resources tab.
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- Do you only design and build new homes?
No. We will work within whatever budget you give us to provide you with what you want most: a whole new home, a renovation of your existing home or an addition to increase the space you have. All with energy efficiency and comfort as our focus and environmental sustainability as our practise.
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- I want to put solar panels on my roof. What do you recommend?
There are two kinds of solar panels. "PV" or "photovoltaic", generates electricity. You can either store it in (toxic) batteries or sell it back to the grid, called "grid-tied". This technology is still very, very expensive. The more economical solar installation with direct benefits is for heating your domestic hot water or your pool or hot tub. Within months you will be seeing payback.
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- I'd like to incorporate passive solar in my new house. Will my house get too hot? Too cold? Be ugly and futuristic looking? Have fussy controls?
We design passive solar homes with traditional features, while incurring no added expense. The approach is simply a rearrangement of materials you would otherwise need to build any home. You benefit not only through energy savings but from living in a cheery, well-lit home without temperature swings. The heat gained by the sun is stored in the increased thermal mass which we build with on the interior and does not leak out of the house because of the high level of insulation and the exemplary seal of the house and high efficiency windows. The heating system which you choose to complement this is designed from meticulous heat load calculations to provide constant even heat. The controls can be the same as any other home. The design will reflect your style.
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