What Our Clients Were Living In
You may be in the same position as our clients before they decided to build a custom home: living in an old, cramped, drafty home with a questionable structure. Supplementing home comfort with space heaters, fireplaces, and blankets. You’ve likely heard from the builder down the road or from that friend or family member that built themselves, that high performance and energy efficiency costs more. Or all you need to do is add some sprayfoam insulation or heated floors.
Their Options
Our future clients had some decisions to make:
a) Continue to live in conditions that harmed their health as they age while wasting money on heating rather than enjoying life
b) Choosing a builder that either didn’t know or didn’t care about high performance building but was willing to charge more for “energy efficiency”. That didn’t offer independently measured results and weren’t licensed to provide a certification like ENERGY STAR®.
c) Build at code minimum, with low performance while energy costs are expected to increase.
d) Or they could choose Avvio Fine Homes: a builder that cares and knows how to build for high performance and energy efficiency, that can deliver on our promises with proven results supported by independent testing and certifications.
Their Choice and What They Got
Avvio Fine Homes was hired as the builder of Project LH – their new 3100 sq ft custom home designed by Peggy Chiu Architect with 5 baths and 4 + 1 beds in North York.
We got right to work with government approved independent energy advisor and building science experts at Building Knowledge Canada Inc. – planning and modelling to achieve high performance and ENERGY STAR® Certification.
The new home would be much larger and include solid construction and finely crafted finishes like custom cabinetry and millwork and features like an elevator and whole-home back-up natural gas generator. It would also be a high performance home with exceptional energy efficiency, enhanced comfort and be healthier for our clients.
These are not merely words – we have the results to prove it with an independent EnerGuide Rating and ENERGY STAR® certification. The EnerGuide rating – a rating of the home’s energy consumption measured in gigajoules per year – was 63 GJ/year or 46% less than typical new home and far more efficient than their current home and even the ENERGY STAR® target of 20%. We stand by the results of our homes with Guarantees such as this and backing the home’s quality with a Tarion Warranty.
Follow Along
Click on the YouTube series here to see behind the walls of the high performance home construction process that included high performance windows, exterior insulation, rockwool insulation and “smart” variable perm vapour barrier throughout. And a high performance mechanical system with an ERV (Energy Recovery Ventilator) and an additional flush mounted Ductless heater and air conditioner for primary bedroom with Heat Pump.
Learn More about Our Design and Build Process and by Downloading Our Free Guide – 7 Things You Must Know Before Designing A New Home.