Sustainability
If your family prioritizes sustainability, you’re probably intentional about the car you drive, the food you eat, and the products you purchase. But what about the home you live in?
WHAT DRIVES US
The Un-sustainability of Traditional Housing
A traditionally built house is often far from sustainable. Cheap, non-durable materials need to be repaired or replaced, inefficient appliances and HVAC systems gulp energy, and a lack of insulation and leaky windows allow excess air and moisture to flow in and out. These issues increase your carbon footprint, drive up utility bills and maintenance costs, and force you to make environmental, social, and economic compromises that undermine your priorities.
DON'T JUST TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT
On Sustainability
Where health, comfort, and durability converge
A truly sustainable home is one that promotes comfort, health, and durability. This begins with a thoughtful and responsible design that emphasizes quality over square footage quantity, utilizes premium materials, and utilizes passive house building principles. These provide the easiest path to a futureproof, net zero home that allows your family to live the comfortable, healthy, sustainable life you desire in a house that’s as durable as it is beautiful.
Harnessing the Power of Passive Solar
Thoughtfully placed, south-facing windows bathe your home in natural light and capture solar energy that helps keep your home at a pleasant temperature. Unlike low-grade options in a regular house, premium windows are carefully installed to eliminate drafts and the buildup of condensation and frost. This not only creates more consistent comfort in every room, but also lowers energy loss. As there are no cold or hot spots, the windows allow you to create a strong connection with the outdoors, while shielding you from noise, pollutants, and adverse weather conditions.
Lowering Heating & Cooling Costs
The combination of a tightly sealed building envelope, continual insulation, and top-grade windows minimize the energy requirements for heating and cooling a high-performance home, even during seasonal highs and lows. Whereas HVAC systems guzzle utilities, a heat pump extracts energy from the air and ground to subtly keep the indoor temperature stable, while an ERV provides fresh air via balanced ventilation. These intelligent, clean energy systems significantly lower utility usage and bills, as do efficient lighting, appliances, and water fixtures. To compound these savings, solar panels can be installed, and, in some cases, these provide sufficient energy to power your home and plug-in electric vehicles.
Minimizing Human Energy Use & Improving Health
Owning a durable Passive House doesn’t merely reduce energy use by up to 70 percent and leave a smaller environmental footprint. It also requires less human energy, as you don’t have to work harder to pay for high utility bills and repairs. This makes it more economically sustainable and gives you back time to spend with friends and family. A high-performance home is also more sustainable for your health, bringing in fresh, filtered air, eliminating toxic materials, and expelling odors, pet dander, and allergens. Your family can be comfortable, healthy, and sustainable at the same time.
Supporting Your Values
With a high-performance home, sustainability is no longer just a buzzword but a lifestyle. “Learning about passive homes helped us understand what the value of sustainability is,” said one Kansas City homeowner. “We wanted to show the people in our life what sustainable living can look like and also demonstrate to our kids that it’s not just a word – it’s important that we try to live this way.” In other words, a better built home leads to a higher quality of life and a more sustainable future.
