WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF DESIGNING AND BUILDING A HIGH PERFORMANCE HOME?
A high performance home is essentially a home that is specifically designed and built to work with the existing site conditions to function in an energy efficient manner producing an optimal internal living environment. Using technologically advanced and premium building materials to create an air-tight and weather resistant building envelope complemented with a ventilation system creates a ‘passive’ home that does not require additional sources of heating and cooling and maintains an optimal internal living environment without you having to do anything. A passive or high performing home is designed to be up to 90% more efficient than your typical Australian home.
However, it is also the internal living environment and the quality and durability of the building itself that sets high performance homes apart. The airtight design and provision of controlled fresh and filtered air from a balanced ventilation system, significantly reduces the airborne pollutants and pollens. Meaning that the air quality is far superior to a standard home. An additional benefit resulting from the constant internal temperature is that mold, mildew and condensation do not have a chance to form. No more weeping windows, or mold accumulating on window sills.
Lastly, the actual value of your home has been shown to increase when quality and sustainability are featured.
A thoughtfully designed and well constructed home can have many and varied aspects that are deemed as being sustainable which displays forethought toward not only the environmental impact but also the internal living environment.
Watch this brief 90 second video for an informative description of Passive House Principals.
Some of the basic benefits of constructing your home include:
- Reduced construction costs due to the efficient use of materials resulting in less waste.
- Less waste produced during construction results in less material needing to be transferred to landfill.
- A reduction in the greenhouse emissions from construction, material and appliance selection.
- A decrease in the consumption of water through water saving fixtures, recycled water systems and rain water collection.
- Increase in the level of personal comfort due to measures like passive heating and cooling and natural ventilation resulting in cleaner indoor air quality.