Building Science
HIGH PERFORMANCE BUILDING
Net zero energy buildings are what we do best. Structures that are “Net Zero” have an energy generation that equals or exceeds their annual consumption.
Metro Green homes are built with super insulating building envelopes. This approach in conjunction with a passive solar methodology decreases our usage and dependency on unsustainable energy sources. These techniques aim to reduce heating, cooling, and lighting loads through climate-responsive design and conservation practices.
The above approach creates the most efficient barrier to minimize thermal transfer (heat loss/gain) and air leakage between the interior of a structure and the outdoor environment. Using smart orientations of high quality windows and doors, specific absorbing building materials, and energy recovering ventilation systems that supply filtered fresh air allows our homes’ to harness the sun’s energy and fulfill their own heating and lighting requirements. As heating and cooling accounts for 50-70% of the energy used in the average American home (U.S. Department of Energy 2002), these design principle greatly minimizes the use of polluting external sources like oil, gas, etc.
In fact, Passive House buildings routinely reduce heating energy by 90%.
High performance building is not just about making our carbon footprint smaller…From our perspective, it’s the smartest way to build and provide a sustainable life. These designs not only deliver efficiency, but create buildings that are more durable, comfortable, and healthy. The diagrams below show the US Department of Energy’s assessment of how Passive House buildings perform compared to ENERGY STAR and conventional buildings. Passive House buildings significantly outperform the others on all four measures.
