Black Mountain Custom Builder likes Passive Solar Home Design

To get the most from your home, think sun. That's right, the sun can heat and cool your home and reduce its energy use. More importantly, the energy from the sun can make your home comfortable year round. There are two types of solar design systems, passive and active. Homes constructed as passive solar design use the natural movement of heat and air to maintain comfortable temperatures, operating with little or no mechanical assistance. It is called passive solar because the design of the home maximizes the benefits it receives from the sun with standard construction features.Passive solar takes advantage of local breezes and landscape features such as shade trees and windbreaks, and uses a simple system to collect and store solar energy with no switches or controls.On the other hand, active solar systems use mechanical devices such as pumps and fans to move heat from collectors to storage or from storage to use. Photovoltaic panels that collect solar energy, turning it into electricity, are also considered an active solar system.

Although, building a passively designed solar home takes careful planning, the task is relatively simple, if you use the five basic solar design principles: Orientation, Overhangs and Shading, Insulation, Windows, and Thermal Mass. Building to take advantage of solar energy need not cost any more than building a comparably sized non-solar conventional home. A home that is properly oriented, tightly constructed, well insulated, and has operable windows for air circulation is both comfortable for the occupants and easy on the wallet. You can call it passive design or just smart construction. Advantage Development Co. is an award winning black mountain custom builder and NAHB Certified Green Professional and understands that building green to saving energy & renewable resources should begin with proper home design utilizing passive solar home design techniques. Call us today at 828-215-9064 or visit us at http://www.advdevco.com/ to learn more about us and why we are better.

Black Mountain Custom Builder Shares on Solar Hot Water Systems

Solar water heaters, also called solar domestic hot water systems, can be a cost-effective way to generate hot water for your home. They can be used in any climate, and the fuel they use, sunshine, is free. Solar water heating systems include storage tanks and solar collectors. There are two types of solar water heating systems: active, which have circulating pumps and controls, and passive, which don't. Most solar water heaters require a well-insulated storage tank. Solar storage tanks have an additional outlet and inlet connected to and from the collector. In two-tank systems, the solar water heater preheats water before it enters the conventional water heater.

In one-tank systems, the back-up heater is combined with the solar storage in one tank.Solar water heating systems almost always require a backup system for cloudy days and times of increased demand. Conventional storage water heaters usually provide backup and may already be part of the solar system package. A backup system may also be part of the solar collector, such as rooftop tanks with thermosyphon systems. Since an integral, collector storage system already stores hot water in addition to collecting solar heat; it may be packaged with a demand (tankless or instantaneous) water heater for backup. For more information on solar hot water systems call Advantage Development Co., an award winning custom black mountain green builder in Asheville NC. Call us at 828.215.9064 or visit us at http://www.advdevco.com/ to learn more.

Black Mountain Custom Builder likes PV Systems for Electric Energy on Green Homes

What do we mean by photovoltaics? First used in about 1890, the word has two parts: photo, derived from the Greek word for light, and volt, relating to electricity pioneer Alessandro Volta. So, photovoltaics could literally be translated as light-electricity. And that's what photovoltaic (PV) materials and devices do, they convert light energy into electrical energy (Photoelectric Effect), as French physicist Edmond Becquerel discovered as early as 1839. Commonly known as solar cells, individual PV cells are electricity-producing devices made of semiconductor materials. PV cells come in many sizes and shapes, from smaller than a postage stamp to several inches across. They are often connected together to form PV modules that may be up to several feet long and a few feet wide. Modules, in turn, can be combined and connected to form PV arrays of different sizes and power output.The size of an array depends on several factors, such as the amount of sunlight available in a particular location and the needs of the consumer.

The modules of the array make up the major part of a PV system, which can also include electrical connections, mounting hardware, power-conditioning equipment, and batteries that store solar energy for use when the sun isn't shining. Did you know that PV systems are already an important part of our lives? Simple PV systems provide power for many small consumer items, such as calculators and wristwatches. More complicated systems provide power for communications satellites, water pumps, and the lights, appliances, and machines in some people's homes and workplaces. Many road and traffic signs along highways are now powered by PV. In many cases, PV power is the least expensive form of electricity for performing these tasks. Advantage Development Co. is an award winning black mountain custom green builder in Asheville NC and understands Solar PV technology, costs, and tax credits available. Call us today at 828.215.9064 or visit us at http://www.advdevco.com/ to learn just why we are the better builder in Asheville.

Black Mountain Custom Builder likes Radiant Floor Heat

In a home which is heated by radiant heat, your body circulation will improve because your feet are warm. That isn't the case with a forced air system. The heat is near the ceiling, around your head. Chairs and walls keep warm without cold spots or drafts in a radiant heated home -- objects in a forced air home are only as warm as the air around them. Radiant Heat keeps your furniture, drapes and painted walls extremely clean and keeps the floors dry. When the home is heated by blowing air; dust, dirt, grime, molds and other materials are blown from the ducts soiling the objects in the room. Place furniture anywhere. There are no grills or baseboards with a radiant heat system. Hang drapery right to the floor. Install wood, tile, carpet, or any other floor coverings without fear of cold feet. Forced air can't come close to the flexibility of a radiant heating system.Radiant heat is not absorbed by the air, so it is ideal for buildings which have high air exchange rates. Radiant heat offers considerable energy savings over warm air systems, especially under otherwise difficult conditions. Radiant heat is transmitted by infrared waves and is directional. Radiant panel heating ensures that cold spots are avoided. Zone control of the radiant system permits flexible management, allowing selected areas to be heated to different temperatures as required. Radiant heating minimizes roof heat losses. By keeping the heat at floor level and around the objects to be heated, the temperature at the ceiling level becomes cooler and substantially reduces the heat loss.

Radiant heat warms up cold bodies directly without heating the whole building. Consequently, radiant heating responds to the heating needs more quickly than warm air. The less frequent warm up periods save fuel and allow the heating system to match flexible, modern working arrangements. Radiant heating does not circulate air, therefore airborne particles are reduced. Radiant heat is not for everyone, but it does offer some home owners benefits that forced air does not. Advantage Development Co. is an award winning Black Mountain custom home green builder in Asheville NC with over two decades of experience. Call us at 828.215.9064 for a free consultation or visit us at http://www.advdevco.com/ to learn more about us.

Black Mountain Custom Builder likes Geo Thermal Heat Systems

Geo thermal Heat Pumps, here is how they work. All energy comes from the sun. Mr. Sunshine has provided a lot of BTUs for a lot of years and Mother Earth has absorbed and stored that energy. A closed-loop geothermal system simply removes those BTUs from Mother Earth in the winter and gives them back in the summer. At depths of five feet or more, the earth temperature remains close to 57 degrees, as evidenced by a caves temperature. This temperature varies only slightly across the United States.

There are two basic ways to install a geothermal unit. If digging a trench is difficult or if space is limited, geothermal contractors drill holes into the ground vertically to install small-diameter polyethylene pipe. If digging a horizontal trench is feasible, the pipe is installed in a horizontal trench.A very small pump then circulates water from the earth to the geothermal unit and back to the ground in the closed loop pipe. Actually, geothermal is not the best name for this unit. A better name is ground-coupled heat pump or water-to-air heat pump. As you learned in my last newsletter, a heat pump does not create heat; it just moves heat from one location to another using a compressor. Example: A window air conditioner blows cool air inside and hot air outside. If you turn the air conditioner around, it will blow hot air inside and cool air outside. As it circulates 57-degree water in the winter, the geothermal unit, using the compressor to remove heat from the water, provides 105-degree air into the house. As the water goes back to the ground loop, it immediately starts absorbing BTUs from the earth.In the summer, a reversing valve simply reverses the process and the compressor pumps BTUs into the ground loop.

The water returns to the earth and immediately starts cooling off again. It is all about heat transfer. Here is another example, a blacksmith heats a horseshoe to red hot. To cool it, he does not wave the horseshoe into the air. Instead, he simply dips it in water. It cools off a lot faster and takes a lot less energy. Geothermal gives good hot air in the winter and really cold air in the summer and uses less energy than any other central heating and cooling system. So do not be a tightwad. Buy the best there is, you, your family, and your house deserve it. Advantage Development Co. is an award winning custom Black Mountain home builder in Asheville NC, building fine homes for two decades. Call us today at 828.215.9064 or visit us at http://www.advdevco.com/ to learn more about why we are the better builder.

Black Mountain Custom Builder likes Energy Star Bulbs

If every American home replaced just one light bulb with an ENERGY STAR qualified bulb, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars. ENERGY STAR qualified bulbs use about 75 percent less energy than standard incandescent bulbs and last up to 10 times longer, save about $30 or more in electricity costs over each bulbs lifetime, produce about 75 percent less heat, so they are safer to operate and can cut energy costs associated with home cooling, and are available in different sizes and shapes to fit in almost any fixture, for indoors and outdoors. Advantage Development Co. Is an award winning custom builder in Asheville NC, and always educates clients on the benefits of ENERGY STAR Appliances & Lighting. Call us today at 828.215.9064 for a free consultation or visit our website at http://www.advdevco.com/ to learn more about us & why we are better.

Black Mountain Custom Builder likes low Voc Paints

Indoor air is three times more polluted than outdoor air, and according to the EPA, is considered one of the top 5 hazards to human health. Paints and finishes are among the leading causes. Paints and finishes release low level toxic emissions into the air for years after application. The source of these toxins is a variety of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which, until recently, were essential to the performance of the paint. New environmental regulations, and consumer demand, have led to the development of low-VOC and zero-VOC paints and finishes. Most paint manufacturers now produce one or more non-VOC variety of paint.These new paints are durable, cost-effective and less harmful to human and environmental health.Benefits-Health, Reduced toxins benefit everyone, including those with allergies and chemical sensitivities. Environment, Reduces landfill, groundwater and ozone depleting contaminants.

Effective, Low-VOC products perform well in terms of coverage, scrubability and hideability (covering flaws on previous coats). Water-Based, Easy cleanup with soap and warm water. Little or No Hazardous Fumes. Low odor during application; no odor once cured. No off-gassing, Painted areas can be occupied sooner, with no odor complaints. Not Deemed Hazardous Waste, Cleanup and disposal greatly simplified. Advantage Development Co. is an Award Winning Black Mountain Custom Green Builder in Asheville NC that believes in using Healthier Building products in all of their new home construction. Call us today at 828.215.9064 for a free consultation or visit our website at http://www.advdevco.com/ to see why we are the better builder in WNC.