Building for the Future – Green Building & Net-Zero Construction

Efficiency in Every Way

We often talk about high performance regarding our fitness, our work teams or our cars. Increasingly, we need to start talking about the performance of our home when it comes to its energy use and its carbon footprint.

We are moving collectively towards building and designing homes closer to net-zero meaning that the home’s energy requirements for heat, hot water and electricity must be met by an onsite renewable energy source, such as solar panels and passive solar homes.

On the energy requirement or demand side, designers and builders focus on the changes they can make to reduce a home’s overall energy load. Architects and Builders are creating “generational homes” designed to last.

Today, they are incorporating innovative design choices, technologies, and construction practices to build significantly more energy-efficient homes than their traditional counterparts. They are using triple-paned windows and building envelope technologies as well as the home’s positioning to reduce heating costs and improve energy efficiency.

Taking a life-cycle approach to material choice can also reduce a home’s carbon footprint. That might mean choosing materials with lower levels of embodied carbon, such as wood over steel. It could also mean paying a little more to buy hot water heaters and HVAC systems built to last and won’t need to be replaced in the short term.

Building a high-performance home requires a holistic perspective, and that’s where working with a builder experienced in this area can make a real difference. They can help you make the design choices that will optimize building performance and advise on the structural components and technology systems that will lower your home’s energy use and carbon footprint.