The Energy Efficient Luxury Home is “Smart”
Homes are getting smarter, as Fast Company and others have proclaimed. Smart devices play an important role in energy efficiency and thereby, costs.
New thermostats do much more than turning on and off to regulate the temperature. Now they can detect if people are home or even which part of the home they are in. They record the energy usage and your lifestyle patterns. That data help tailor your energy use. It will also help you make adjustments from a remote location via your phone.
Many of the energy options below can be used in combination with smart devices to regulate your home energy use.
Energy Efficient Choices
More options are available all the time, it seems, for an energy efficient luxury home. Learn about several of them below:
Geothermal Heating and Cooling
Geothermal HVAC units run around 155 feet vertically underground. The systems takes advantage of the relatively constant underground temperatures. Fluid runs through the loop to bring warm air up, then compressing it to heat the home, or to remove warm air from the home for cooling. The unit’s fan, compressor, and pump typically run on electricity. According to National Geographic, “Geothermal systems require little maintenance. When installed properly, which is critical, the buried loop can last for generations.” These systems are not new but they have become more popular as demand for alternative energy increases.
Solar Power
Placing electricity-producing photovoltaic panels on a roof has been done for decades. The basic concepts haven’t changed a lot, but the technology has improved and prices have come down in recent years. Some people mistakenly believe that solar power works only when the sun is shining. Actually, solar systems are becoming more and more efficient at storing energy for later use.
Typical panels on roofs can be positioned strategically so they are not seen from the street. In North America, you could position them in the back of a north-facing house. However, attitudes toward solar panels’ appearance are changing and people don’t necessarily dismiss them as “ugly” anymore. What’s more, manufacturers like Tesla are working to create panels that look just like ordinary roof tiles, as CNN reported. Several styles are available and are rated to withstand hail (class 4) damage.
Solar installations last, nearly maintenance-free, for decades. The panels are strong and need only some occasional cleaning.
A Pendragon Energy Efficient Home
Pendragon Homes work with you to create your dream home. We can help you explore some of these energy efficient options as well! Take a look at the house we built for Mike and Pam. Their dream was to create a home that paid homage to the King’s Arms Tavern in Williamsburg, Virginia.
In addition to the beautiful historical design, we also used nuwool insulation and a geothermal heating and cooling system. This family can live in the home of their dreams and also save on the costs of keeping it comfortable all year long.
