Phase 1
Build homes that are ultra-efficient and make use of technology, planning, and materials to achieve better than 100% efficiency.
A home is the largest investment most of us will make in our lives. If we made an equal investment in a business property, we would carefully question what that property will earn back. Yet when it comes to our homes, we are perfectly content with continuing to spend more into the property every year and expect nothing more than protection from the weather in return. We believe that given the investment in an average home, there is no reason we should not expect it to earn us something in return. We have some rather lofty goals that will take the collective effort of many to achieve. As we brainstorm these long term goals together, we will work to implement smaller, incremental efforts toward steps that can be take immediately in new construction projects.
As phase one of our project, our aim is to rethink the design of a home to exceed 100% efficiency on what it consumes.
There are some steps we can all take at an immediate level. The technology exist to be far more efficient in the use of energy than ever before. We believe that at the very least, any new construction should be exploring and trying to make use of systems that can help reduce the energy demands of the house. Technologies such as solar, and wind power can be used to create power on site and cover most if not all of the electrical demands of the house. Careful planning of the site can drastically improve gain from passive solar energy. Tighter construction can cut losses from heating and cooling a home and reduce the energy required to maintain a comfortable temperature. Geothermal, passive and active systems can further reduce the amount of energy required for for heating, cooling needs.
Achieving 100% efficiency is just the beginning. We believe we can push beyond this barrier in future phases, and move toward the next generation of homes that are an integral, active part of our lives.
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