High performance homes are designed and built to be superior to standard homes.
Better Value
When you shop for an item do you automatically pick the one that’s least expensive? Or do you weigh the various factors that go into a product like durability, better features, craftsmanship, customer service and factor these into your decision? By balancing all of these factors you’re likely to get the most out of your purchase. High Performance homes have better features, are more durable, have detailed craftsmanship and come from a builder who values customer experience and will give you the best value for your investment and here’s some of the reasons why.
Comfort
Moving from room to room in your home should not feel like changing seasons. The rule of thumb reasoning and guess work that goes into a typical residential mechanical design is infamous for creating hot and cold spots throughout homes. While the thermostat may get to the 70 degrees it’s set for, much of the rest of the house is still trying to catch up, or maybe there’s room that has gone well beyond and feels like a sauna.
The only way to ensure a home will be comfortable is to actually engineer the mechanical system based on the features of each individual room, like windows and orientation to the sun, and design the heating and cooling accordingly. Balancing the amount of energy to each room with its actual needs. This is followed up by a quality installation and testing to verify the performance of the system matches the design and ensures comfort will follow.
Durability
If you’ve ever taken your car to a mechanic or had to pay for an air conditioner service on a hot day you know how expensive and inconvenient breakdowns can be. Systems that are designed and installed correctly will have a longer life. The vast majority of heating and cooling equipment installed today is way oversized for the home and the duct system it relies on to deliver the air. Blow through a straw and feel how easy the air leaves your body, then squeeze down on the straw and blow again. It takes more work to get the air through the straw. Do you think you would tire out quicker blowing air through the restricted straw? It’s the same thing when comparing a well designed system to the typical system.
The equipment supplies more air than is needed and the ducts aren’t big enough to freely carry the increased air. The constant strain that this imbalance creates will eventually wear the equipment down and you’ll be left with high maintenance fees or even worse, costly change outs. Meanwhile, the well designed and installed systems will keep plugging along.
Air Quality
For many people it’s critical to have an escape from pollutants and allergens while they’re in their home. Unfortunately, not all new or renovated homes offer that escape. The building or renovating process is a great opportunity to make sure all of your air quality needs are met. A high performance home will keep the pollutants out while maintaining a healthy level of fresh air. Just as it is with comfort, the keys to making this happen are a good design, a detailed installation and testing to make sure the two match.
Sustainability
All Electric, Net Zero Energy, Carbon Neutral, Energy Efficient, Renewable Products or whatever else your sustainability goals may be the high performance process is the way to achieve it. Taking into account what you want your house to be and having the knowledge and open mindedness to achieve them is one of cornerstones of the high performance construction experience.
Enjoyment
Going through a custom home or renovation project should be an enjoyable and rewarding experience for everyone involved. Organization, communication and a positive attitude are the keys to making this happen. At Scott O’Hara Construction we are dedicated to a positive customer experience as well as high performance buildings. We feature an online project management portal to keep our projects organized and our customers informed, we return phone calls promptly and we’re excited about every project we build.
Give Scott a call or schedule a Discovery call if you have any questions regarding High Performance Buildings.