WELCOME TO BLEU NEST
THE place for the forward thinkers. The tastemakers. The soon-to-be home builders or renovators who believe that:
Your home isn’t just a home, it’s the backdrop for all those wildly beautiful moments you call life.
AND THAT BACKDROP?
NEEDS TO REPRESENT.
(tweet this)
Discover 6 Proven Sensible Steps To Building A High Performance Home that will:
Save you buckets of money.
Deliver mounds of comfort.
AND bring energy consumption?
TO. ITS. KNEES. (tweet this)
No sacrifice. No peace signs.
Simply by building better & smarter.
I’ll show you how.
DON'T BUILD A NEW HOME WITH OLD IDEAS.
Because when you build a home the ‘traditional’ way’? You are settling.
Settling for a home that serves up colossal energy bills. That bullies you daily with:
- Frigid floors that make mukluks mandatory footwear.
- Nippy nights in the master suite, while the kid’s room dishes out stifling heat.
- And air so dry that you wake up and feel like you have evaporated.
Life is hectic enough. Your home should be anything but. (tweet this) Instead, when you build a High Performance Home, you will banish that bully. And those daily annoyances? Vanish fully.
You might think: ‘How much is this going to cost me?’ Or ‘Greenwash hogwash alert.’
So I want to assure you, that what we’re going to discuss today, is going to pay HUGE dividends in comfort and your daily sanity on day one. I’m going to show you how to eliminate drafts, get superb air quality, and make your monthly energy bills virtually non-existent.
Sound amazing? It gets better. This building technique developed by German physicist, Wolfgang Feist (props for the coolest name ever), is rock-solid, proven, and backed by hard science. (tweet this)
Everything about your High Performance Home is designed to defeat energy demand and crown comfort as king.
COMFORT ISN’T A SECOND THOUGHT.
IT’S YOUR SANITY. yes
Bye-bye cold tiles and thick pullovers. No more fiddling with the thermostat, the space heater, the portable vaporizer, the portable fan, the portable whatever you can get your hands on to make your house habitable. (tweet this)
Instead, when that next blizzard busts in? Slip on that super soft t-shirt. Walk around all day in in your bare feet. Grab that coffee bordeaux and park yourself right by the window. Because you won’t feel a whisper of a draft. The only thing you’ll feel is perfectly fresh air. Delivered at just the right temperature. In every corner of your home. 365. 24/7. No furnace. No gadgets.
And if Mr. Smith decides to fire up that snowblower? You’re not forced to tune in. Your home will keep the snow-blowing symphony out and the sounds of the kids tickle fighting in.
TELL YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT TO TAKE A HIKE
Your energy sipping marvel of a home will use an estimated 90-95% less energy for heating and cooling (tweet this) and 60-70% less overall energy than a typical code-built home. This home isn’t green. It’s green on caffeine. (tweet this)
- Heating and Cooling Energy Savings 90%
- Overall Energy Savings 70%
LESS ENERGY = MORE CHA-CHING!
With a 90% heating and cooling energy reduction, savings begin year one, and grow as energy prices rise. That’s why organizations such as Habitat for Humanity are building this way and countries like Germany and Belgium are making it part of standard construction code.
How many smackers your neighbor will spend each month on their energy bill
How many smackers you will spend each month on your energy bill in your High Performance Home (of the same size)
MINIMAL MAINTENANCE
High-end windows and doors, are virtually maintenance-free, and the elimination of a furnace, boiler or other conventional HVAC systems means that there are fewer “moving parts” to repair or maintain.
IF THE THREE LITTLE PIGS ONLY KNEW
Strong construction means a ridiculously resilient home. The wolf wouldn’t even try.
Since life can be unpredictable, your home will be anything but. Whether it’s a huffing puffing wolf, the next superstorm, or a crippling polar vortex, you can rest easy knowing that you are comfortable and your home is secure.
Health. A priority for your family. No doubt. Good thing there's a home that cares for them as much as you do.
How? Your high performance home is manned by the titan of super-pure air: The ERV (energy recovery ventilator). It pumps in fantastically fresh air 7X A DAY, and before it dumps out the old stale air to the outside, it captures its warmth, heats your house with it, and saves you some serious coin.
How about those pesky pollutants, pollen, dust, and that singular can’t-quite-put-your finger on odiferous atmosphere that has invaded your teenage boy’s room ? Folks..they have left the premises. The ERV makes mince meat out of these annoyances and makes your home the perfect place to hang your smarty (and healthy) pants.
High Performance Homes are green without the gizmos.
Rather than getting hung up on the amount of energy it takes to build a home, it is more important to look at how much energy the home will use during its lifetime. So, while still important, materials and methods used during construction, are not the main focus. They are only a small part of the picture.
For High Performance Homes – the building’s performance is what it’s all about.
CHECK THIS OUT:
ENERGY CONSUMPTION AND CO2 GENERATED IN THE U.S.
%
Building Embodied Energy. (Building materials-a small part of the overall picture)
%
Non Building Energy
%
Transportation
%
Building Operating Energy
THIS IS WHERE HIGH PERFORMANCE HOMES PUT THEIR FOCUS
Home building has evolved. Get on board. It’s survival of the finest.
NEST KNOWLEDGE
(Luckily, you don’t need to be a green genius to look like one.)
6 Proven Sensible Steps
To Building A High Performance Home.
Insanely Energy Efficient. Crazy Comfortable. Absolutely Affordable. Stunningly Chic.
WRAP IT IN A BLANKET
The building shell consists of continuous highly insulated exterior walls, roof, and floor slab. It keeps the desired warmth in the house – or undesirable heat out.
This means draft free, 24/7, 365 days of comfort. Polar vortex? Bring it.
BREATHE IN THE FRESH AIR
Your high performance home will experience 7 complete air exchanges in every 24 hour period. That’s a lot of clean fresh air!
An ERV (energy recovery ventilator) continuously pumps in filtered, perfectly fresh air. It’s so stellar that your home will meet or exceed EPA’s Indoor Air Plus standards.
SLEEP TIGHT
With super tight construction, air infiltration can be no greater than 0.6 air changes per hour, at 50 pascals.
That means the only draft that’s coming into this house… is the one you home brew. It’s virtually airtight.
TRIPLE PANERS ARE NO BRAINERS
This is not your grandmother’s house, or your mother’s house. This is the mother of all houses. And in this house…the windows wear the panes. Times three.
Highly efficient triple-paned windows with low-e glazing, argon gas and airtight frames have R- values as high as R 12 – that’s better than the walls of some existing homes.
Coldest day of the year? Touch the glass. You wont feel a chill.
DESIGN LIKE EINSTEIN
Smart, thermal bridge-free design means no parts of the structure can act as highways for heating energy in which warmth can travel and escape right through your walls.
BRING IN THE SUN
Orient your home so the sun heats it. Because the sun belongs in your home and the furnace belongs in an antique shop.
THIS IS WHERE THE HAMMER MEETS THE HARDRIVE
These six sexy steps are proven, measurable & backed by building science. They all add up to:
You eliminating the need for a furnace or HVAC system. Appliances, the sun, t.v.’s, your bodies, and a small mini split heater will provide all the heat you need.
AND
The holy grail of High Performance Homes, or what those ‘in the know’ call …(drum roll please in unison with the geek alert):
THE PASSIVE HOUSE STANDARD
They know you’ve got planet earth’s back. This just proves it.
Can I open the windows in my High Performance Home?
AND OTHER FAQ’S
What is it like to live in a High Performance Home?
Let me put it to you this way: Goldilocks wouldn’t make it out of this house.
With one step inside, the ‘just right’ temperatures and fresh air in every corner will cast a spell of comfort that captivates. There is no furnace or air-conditioner clicking on or off, no whir of forced air, and yet the climate is a perfect 72 degrees, despite the chilly air outside.
Then there are the things you’re not feeling… humidity, dry, stuffy air, drafts, and the thermostat taunting you.
Can I open the windows?
You Bet’cha. Open the windows anytime just like a regular house.
And if you’re bunkered in during those wild winter months with the windows sealed tight you wouldn’t even know it. Your ERV (energy recovery unit) kindly gifts you with fresh, clean, filtered air at just the perfect temperature every single day.
Is it unhealthy to live in an airtight home?
The ERV continuously supplies fresh, filtered air into the house with a complete air exchange 7x a day. It’s one of the healthiest home you can build.
Does it need to be a super modern boxy design?
Only if super modern boxy is your thing. Farmhouse or colonial more your style? Go for it. Build what you love. Let bespoke design abound.
Does it cost more to build?
Costs vary depending on design, size of project, quality of finishes etc…. Extra cost is approximately 5% to 15% , but should be re-couped within approximately 7 to 10 years from savings on heating and cooling bills.
Can I control the temperature?
Yes. Your house will deliver 68 degrees house-wide throughout the heating season while using the minimum amount of energy. Want it toastier or prefer it a little more crisp? It’s as simple as adjusting your thermostat, that’s it.
Isn't this technology still in development?
A High Performance Home doesn’t require as much technology as a conventional house.
The only special technology which is needed is house ventilation with heat recovery, and this has been successfully used in Canada and Scandinavia for over 50 years.
How is this different from LEED and other certifications?
Unlike LEED and some of the energy efficient building programs, the High Performance Passive House standard doesn’t assign a rating or use a point system for the materials and methods used during construction. Instead, the Passive House Standard is based wholly on the building’s performance.
Is this some eco-hippie dippy home?
Hippie? No.
Hip? You better believe it.
Is this just for homes?
Equal rights for all. Buildings, schools, hospitals, you name it, can build this way.
Do I need a lot of south facing windows for this to work?
Southern exposure is ideal, but not a deal breaker.
Have a view of Lake Louise that’s so spectacular it makes your eyes burn? No need to sacrifice it. Instead, savor the sight and make up for solar gain somewhere else, like pumping in some more insulation.
The PHPP program (Passive House Planning Packet) will set you straight and dish out specifically what your house needs to be a High Performance superstar.
How is this different from a passive solar home?
Here’s the deal: ‘Passive solar design’ means orienting your home to let in maximum sun. So, face south my friends.
In a High Performance Passive House, ‘Passive’ means a home that can maintain temperature without an HVAC (or active systems).
However, many High Performance Homes rely on ‘passive solar design’ as one tactic, among many, to make the home super-efficient, but they go beyond passive solar details and ultimately offers superior performance.
Is the ventilation system noisy?
No. The ventilation system is perfectly positioned in an insulated, airtight cabinet inside a utility room. The sound of the fan is no greater than a modern refrigerator.
So save those earplugs strictly for wine and whining. The kids whine, earplugs go in the ears, then wine gets funneled into your mouth.
Do these homes use solar panels or geo-thermal?
While renewables are great to mix into a High Performance Home project, the key is to FIRST bring the building’s energy consumption down, then you could supplement with a smaller solar array to potentially make your home a true net-zero/positive home.
Slapping solar panels on an energy hog of a home is like running on a treadmill while shoving twinkies in your mouth.
Can an existing building be retro-fitted to meet the High Performance Passive House Standard?
Yes. The EnerPhit Standard is used as the criteria for a refurbished building.
Do I need professional assistance to achieve the High Performance Passive House Standard?
Yes. In order to achieve the Passive House standard, it is vital that the building design is tested and verified using the specialist software Passive House Planning Package.
At Bleu Nest, we are High Performance Home experts and Certified Passive House Consultants and Builders.
YOU ARE EXTRAORDINARY.
THAT’S WHY AT BLEU NEST, WE BUILD AN EXTRAORDINARY HOME. SO YOU CAN FILL IT…
