Thermal bridging is one of the biggest problems we have when trying to create a high performance home. It is imperative to find an economical solution for walls that eliminates any thermal bridging from inside to outside the home. Thermal Bridging is where heat occurs across more conductive components in an otherwise well-insulated material, resulting in disproportionately significant heat loss.
Thermal Bridging can occur when using wood studs, steel studs, pre-engineered metal building, Insulated Concrete Forms, and even SIPS. In 2012 the building code in Virginia recognized this as an issue for code minimum buildings adding new requirements. To build the least energy-efficient possible building (code minimum) you have to either add additional insulation in your walls or wrap your building in a insulation blanket such as rigid board insulation. The minimum attic insulation has also increased dramatically over the last several years to meet code minimum. There are many places where bridging happens in a home including door and window frames, studs, attic access panel, trusses, nails, and even foundation walls can have issues. There are products that perform better to eliminate these challenges, but it sometimes takes a different way than builders are used to doing construction details.
There are challenges with adding more insulation, from diminishing returns to vapor movement. A keen understanding of building science is needed to deliver the best possible solution for health, durability, energy-efficiency, and budget. The biggest challenge I encounter are builders that have always done it another way and don’t want to change for fear of it not working.
Linoleum is a resilient flooring product that was developed in the 1800’s. It consists of cork flour, linseed oil, oak dust, and jute. Linoleum is durable, renewable, anti-static, and easy to clean.
Linoleum comes in either sheet form or tiles. It contains up to 97% natural raw materials.
There are some common things on the wish list for most custom homes. Clients want an open floor plan, lots of light, a beautiful kitchen, luxurious master bathroom, and connection to the outside. However, it is not often asked for – healthy indoor air quality.
Materials, structure, and the heating, ventilation, and cooling systems all contribute to indoor air quality. Making the right selections in all these areas is critical.
Fireplace
There are common elements that impact indoor air quality. A fireplace is a leak in the building envelope. When there is a leak, it will either bring dirty airinto the home or pull dirty air through the building envelope into the home. This also happens with restroom ventilation fans, crawl space, and duct work.
The building envelope is critical in the design of a home for healthy indoor air quality. Keeping the air from moving through the walls will allow you to filter make up air through a filtration system. This will, along with a fresh air system, keep the air flowing through your house healthy and clean.
Moisture
Also, and this one has big impacts to durability and indoor air quality, keep the water out of the wall system. Water infiltration in your home will contribute to indoor air quality faster than anything else.
Finally, the materials used in your home impacts indoor air quality. Do the materials you use have VOC’s? What chemicals will they off gas into your air? Are they easy to clean? What do you use to clean the materials used? All of these questions impact indoor air quality and should be considered.
It is not going to be on the top of your list, but include healthy indoor air quality when building or renovating.
Net Metering is a method of crediting consumers for the electricity that is generated on their home or business in excess of the total electricity that they have used.
Consumers that have solar or wind power on their home or business offset their electricity that they use with the electricity they are producing. If you were to generate more electricity than needed in a billing period then the electric meter turns backwards indicating net excess generation. This is how the electric company tracks your total energy usage. It is also how you take advantage of needed power at night when solar pv is not producing – you essentially are using the power grid as your battery and paying if you use more than you create.
Net Metering laws vary from area to area and the amount that the power company pays you for excess will vary.
We are honored to be included in another design awards program. We found great success in the Marvin Windows Challenge finishing in the top 5 in the country. Now we have a house in the Integrity Red Diamond Awards that is located in downtown Harrisonburg. Please consider voting for this home if you like what we did for our clients. Please vote for us in the Red Diamond Awards!
Built by Beck Builders and landscaping done by the Natural Garden, this home is a great example of how to conserve green space while providing a comfortable energy-efficient home.
This 2,500 square-foot, four-story home was built on an in-fill lot in the heart of Harrisonburg’s historic Old Town neighborhood. The home features four bedrooms, an open living room / kitchen, one car garage and a home office. There is a bridge connecting the front door to the parking area and a roof deck with expansive views stretching as far as James Madison University. The homeowners wanted an energy-efficient, contemporary-style cottage look that would blend into the historic neighborhood.
Carbon Neutral Building is the process of taking into account measuring, reducing, and offsetting carbon energy used by the building. A typical carbon neutral building integrates passive design, high performance building envelope, energy-efficient systems, and on-site renewable energy.
In order to measure carbon neutrality the building must have system boundaries – meaning an understanding of what is being measured. Are building material manufacturing processes included? What about travel to and from the building during construction or post-construction? What parameters are most important should be carefully considered and transparent to the client.
Carbon Neutrality for buildings can be supplemented by purchasing of green power. However, this misses the intent in my opinion.
