KVC acknowledges the immediate impact of green building on the environment by exercising sustainable design solutions. Our building applications blend into existing building designs to provide immediate savings in energy consumption.
The approach that we use involves creating the ideal six sided cube or building envelope. This produces efficiencies that reduce the impact of carbon emissions on the environment, which then pass on immediate savings to our homeowners.
This six sided cube incorporates the follow green building techniques:
Water Management
Developing a sound water management plan is one of the most important procedures for every home construction project. Wood is the ultimate in green building materials and lowest in cost, although measures must be taken to preserve it. The sooner water is moved around or shed away from a home, the better chance the wood has at sustainability. Implementing this basic method of construction will preserve a home for hundreds of years.
Outsulating
On average, we add 1-2 inches of polystyrene product to the outside of the home to create a complete thermal break or “thermos effect.” We completely insulate all mechanical spaces and basement walls to create conditioned spaces. This process is significantly more energy efficient as we address any and all thermal losses before they enter the home. Hence the term "outsulation."
HVAC and Energy Consumption
By creating the thermos effect to counter heat loss, it may appear that the building is too airtight; however, our systems exchange between 5-20% of the air inside the home with fresh new air every few hours. The process of outsulating, insulating, conditioning mechanical spaces and installing energy efficient windows and doors all results in cutting fuel consumption between 40-60%. This is in direct comparison to building the same home without this process. These sound building practices combined with the latest technology such as solar, geothermal and variable speed heat pumps allow for all spaces inside a home to be conditioned down to a microclimate. The end result is superior indoor air quality with efficient operating costs.
Building Envelope
Four walls, a roof, and a floor. The ideal six sided building envelope is one that breathes, insulates against losses, sheds water away for sustainability and remains energy efficient and reusable. This demonstrates our commitment to environmental responsibility and result in immediate payback and comfort.
Windows & Doors
Windows and doors cover up to one third of the house’s outer surface. They do not come close to matching the energy efficiency of the R-value of a wall it stands next to. A more realistic and cost effective alternative to using Super 8 R-value glass or beyond is to install the best available airtight and UV insulated glass. This will alleviate most of the loss when heating and cooling.
KVC acknowledges the immediate impact of green building on the environment by exercising sustainable design solutions. Our building applications blend into existing building designs to provide immediate savings in energy consumption.