High-Performance Home Systems for Energy Efficiency

With the incredible array of energy-efficient home systems available today, your custom home building or renovation project has the ability to transform the way you live. And if you’re planning a new custom home, you should think high-performance from the start.

High-performance homes utilize the most advanced sustainable design and technology available today to realize immense energy and cost savings, prevent mold and mildew formation, promote exceptional indoor air quality, and ensure that you live in remarkable comfort.

And a high-performance custom home only costs 5-10% more than a conventionally-built home. After several years, the cost efficiencies realized by high-performance home systems offset the initial construction premium. Plus, your family enjoys a home that is beautiful, healthier, more comfortable, and better for the environment. Read on for a list of energy-efficiency options that Clarum offers for high-performance construction and green renovation.

Superior Insulation

High-performance homes deliver superior insulation, regulating your home’s temperature by preventing unwanted air flow, heat loss, and drafts. Insulation helps you lower costs, lighten your environmental impact, add comfort, and create calm and quiet in your home.

• Structural Insulated Panels (SIPS) are high performance building panels that offer greater air tightness to the external envelope – the floors, walls, and roof – of your home.
• High-efficiency framing and insulation improve your home’s thermal envelope. Clarum utilizes effective spray foam insulation to form an air barrier around your structure, sealing and insulating in one step.
• High-performance windows airtight no air infiltration increase comfort in the home, decrease energy use and reduce condensation, reduce space heating costs by 18%.
• Sealing the interior of your house can greatly eliminate drafts and leaks, can save energy, and keep temperatures constant. Use a water-based, liquid applied elastomeric barrier to provide air and moisture tight construction.

Comfort in Efficiency

High-performance design can transform your heating, cooling, and water delivery systems.

• Solar power systems harness the power of the sun to produce the electricity needed for your high-performance home. Similarly, solar hot water systems utilize energy from the sun to heat water (85%) and provide energy for home heating.
• Heat Recovery Ventilator (HRV) systems cycle air throughout the home. An HRV system provides proper air ventilation throughout your home, drawing fresh air in, filtering and tempering it with the native air, and moving it throughout the house. This constant, balanced supply of fresh air makes your indoor environment healthier, maintains even air temperatures throughout the house, and saves up to 90% of space heating costs.
• Tankless on-demand water heaters, low-flow plumbing fixtures, and high efficiency appliances like front loading washers are smart water-saving solutions for a comfortable, high-performance home. Rainwater collection systems, drought-resistant landscaping design, and permeable pavers can improve landscape drainage and water efficiency, so your lawn stays lush without sucking up too much water.

Horse Before the Cart

You might read this and get the impression that high-performance systems are easy additions to your construction or renovation project. And, to a certain extent, that can be true.

The key is to make sure that your design and build team has an understanding of and experience with incorporating high-performance into their design, planning, and building practices. You should always ask your builder about their experience working with high-performance systems, and how they plan to ensure that your new home is healthy and eco-friendly.

To learn more about Clarum’s approach to high-performance home building, give us a call at 650.322.7069.