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Top 10 Design Priorities for The Living Home |
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Monday, 02 March 2009 |
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1
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Conserve |
If you don’t need it … don’t consume it.
EnergyStar appliances
Low-Flow shower and toilet |
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2
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Build it tight … |
Quality home builder
Foam insulation |
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3
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… ventilate right. |
Heat Recovery Ventilator (HRV)
Good filtration (MERV 12 or better) |
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4
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Good insulation |
R40 walls, R60 roof are good goals
Urethane (R7/inch) or double-wall with Icyene (R3.5/inch)
ICF basement walls, insulate underneath the floor slab |
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5
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Design for passive solar |
South orientation
Good windows (low E, high solar heat gain, shading) |
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6
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Design for health |
Low VOC paint (including tints) & finishes
Low formaldehyde flooring & cabinet woods
Avoid carpeting or use certified green carpets
Consider UV purification in ventilation system |
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7
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High efficiency heating |
In Alberta, a high efficiency natural gas furnace is recommended.
With clean electricity (not Alberta) consider a Ground Source Heat Pump (‘geothermal’) system. |
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8
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Durable Materials |
Lightweight cement roofing (Unicrete)
Cement-fiber siding (HardiPlank)
Fiberglass window frames & doors |
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9
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Preheat water with solar energy |
Two flat-plate solar panels can heat 100% summer, 50% winter demand. Back up with natural gas tankless water heater. |
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10
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Generate electricity |
After you do everything else well, consider installing photovoltaic (solar) panels with net metering. |
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