home exterior: energy efficient home

Showing posts with label energy efficient home. Show all posts

Lake Sunapee Home

One of our latest designs is a Lake Sunapee home for an older couple, their children, and grandchildren. The cottage style home fits in nicely with the architecture around the lake.

Goals of the home are energy efficiency, one floor living for the parents, and well-designed common and private areas for each family.

The project is in the design development stage, where we determine spatial requirements and accurate dimensions for rooms and areas, as well as outdoor space for entertaining. Broad material choices are being made in this stage of the home design. One or more meetings will be dedicated solely to the kitchen design to choose appliances and their location, cabinets, flooring, counters, and special requirements for the owners.

ENERGY STAR Home

Any home three stories or less can earn the ENERGY STAR label if it has been verified to meet EPA's guidelines.

Energy Star Homes are typically 20-30% more energy efficient than standard homes – why? Energy Star homes incorporate these eco friendly features:

1. Effective Insulation
2. High-Performance Windows
3. Tight Construction and Ducts
4. Efficient Heating and Cooling Equipment
5. Efficient Products
6. Third-Party Verification

The benefits of building an energy efficient home are plenty:

LOWER OWNERSHIP COST
Compared with standard homes, ENERGY STAR homes use substantially less energy for heating, cooling, and water heating-delivering $200 to $400 in annual savings.

Over the average 7 to 8 years you may live in your home, this adds up to thousands of dollars saved on utility bills. Additional savings on maintenance can also be substantial. Financing your home purchase using an energy efficient mortgage can also lead to savings.

BETTER PERFORMANCE
Properly installed energy-efficient improvements deliver better protection against cold, heat, drafts, moisture, pollution, and noise. An energy-efficient home helps ensure consistent temperatures between and across rooms, improved indoor air quality, and greater durability.

SMART INVESTMENT
To date, more than 8,500 home builders have partnered with EPA to construct more than 1 million ENERGY STAR qualified homes. The trend is clear. By choosing a home with the ENERGY STAR label, you can be confident that it will have an increasingly valued feature when the time comes to sell.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Did you know that your home can be a greater source of pollution than your car? In fact, 16 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions are generated from the energy used in houses nationwide.

Energy used in our homes often comes from the burning of fossil fuels at power plants, which contributes to smog, acid rain, and global warming. Simply put, the less energy we use in our homes, the less air pollution we generate.

Source: energystar.gov

Lake Sunape Area Open House

Our next event will be held at a spectacular custom home near Lake Sunapee, NH. If you are looking for land in the Sunapee / New London area, or already have property and are planning to build a new home, this event is for you!

Open House at a Lake Sunapee Custom Home

~ Talk with the Green Building Experts ~

Green Architect Jeremy Bonin, Bonin Architects

Green Builder Everett Pollard, Northcape Design Build

Lake Sunapee Realtor Dan O'Halloran, Colby Real Estate

Here's your opportunity to get your questions answered about building a new home or addition or remodeling your existing home. Q&A based on audience discussion! Ask about Comprehensive Shoreland Protection Act guidelines (CSPA), budgeting and costs, green home design, working with an architect, custom home costs, green building materials, and more!

Saturday, May 1, 2010

4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

Registration is required. Directions will be given to registrants only.

To register call Bonin Architects & Associates, New London, NH
603-504-6009

Relaxing atmosphere - Refreshments

Ocean View Home

One of our architectural design clients is building an ocean view home in Middletown RI, overlooking Third Beach, Sachuest Bay, and the Atlantic Ocean.

The 2400 SF ocean view home is in the preliminary design phase. With the garage in the basement, this plan makes efficient use of space.

The first floor features an open floor plan, with a lower level conservatory to capture views of the ocean in four seasons. The dining area is open to the kitchen and living room. Exterior decks are designed to maximize outdoor living space and to enjoy the beauty of the coastal architecture and surroundings.

Two bedrooms and two baths are located on the second floor. Multiple windows take advantage of gorgeous ocean views and allow for ventilation to capture the crisp salty breeze.

The exterior stone, window grille pattern, conservatory, and covered porch are all consistent with New England coastal architecture.

Prevent Mold in Your New Green Home

Mold and mildew can not only cause structural problems in a home, they are the cause of many illnesses and allergies – making them one of your home’s worst enemies. Cleaning and getting rid of mold can be a very difficult, expensive, and time consuming project. If you’re building a new energy efficient home, an important consideration in its construction is controlling moisture to prevent mold and mildew buildup.

There are two types of moisture that can enter a home: bulk moisture and vapor moisture. Bulk moisture can get into a home around windows, doors, and leaks in the roof, as well as from condensation from pipes and ducts. Vapor moisture forms as a result of cooking, showering (yes, those long, hot showers), laundry, changes to the humidity level in the home, and just general living.

How do green homes manage moisture? A few ways are by having:

A well-designed floor plan and careful placement and orientation of the home on the lot to take advantage of solar access and shading;

Energy efficient insulation system to keep the house warm in winter and cool in summer which heps reduce condensation and mold growth;

Well-sealed, energy efficient windows and doors;

Good ventilation with heat recovery ventilation (HRV) units and extraction fans in the kitchen and bathrooms.

Moisture control starts with the green home design. Talk to an architect about your plans to build a healthy, energy efficient home for your family and build a new home that manages moisture and prevents mold!

Home Design Specific to Your Location

Building in different localities means addressing issues specific to your site location. Here are some design issues to consider when building a home…

On a mountaintop:
Views
Terrain and slope
Solar gain
Prevailing winds

On a lake:
Views
Solar gain

Drainage
Comprehensive Shoreland Protection Act or applicable guidelines and restrictions

In the suburbs:
Views
Solar gain and shading

Slope
Architectural Review Board guidelines and regulations

One of our clients is building an energy efficient home on top of a mountain in southwestern New Hampshire (Jaffrey). The 73-acre property faces east and runs from hilltop to the bottom with a fantastic 180-degree view from Mt. Monadnock due north, to Temple, Kidder, and Barrett Mountains to the east, to Mt. Watatic and even Wachusett to the south.

The terrain where the house will be sited is fairly level, which will save money in excavation costs.

The home will be situated with the main living areas (living room and master bedroom) facing east and south. The majority of windows is located on these elevations to take advantage of the fantastic views. Our clients will incorporate solar hot water and geothermal heating systems and are considering using a wind turbine to generate electricity. Click on the link for more photos and the floor plan for this energy efficient one-story house.

Energy Star House Plan

One of our current projects is designed to be built to earn ENERGY STAR certification. The barn style home design fits in nicely with the architectural style of the surrounding area of Old Lyme, Connecticut.

The home will include ENERGY STAR approved insulation (SIP panels), duct system, mechanical ventilation system, windows, heating and cooling units, lighting, and appliances.

At 2864 square feet, this energy efficient home has four bedrooms, three full baths and one half bath. In addition to renderings, Bonin Architects provides traditional elevations. Once the client selects exterior colors, we will prepare a rendering for approval.

When requested, we also provide power/lighting plans for clients and electricians.

ENERGY STAR® is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy that provides information, training, and certification of products and practices to help homeowners save money and protect the environment.

If you are building a new home, consider having it designed to meet ENERGY STAR standards, which will save you 20% - 30% in energy costs, create a healthy indoor environment for your family, reduce air pollutants, dust, and drafts, and, as an added bonus, increase the value of your home.