Our Building Levels

We have a variety of building levels in terms of energy efficiency and sustainability. These levels offer a scale of insulation values, air sealing, windows and much more. Our base level is still a bit better than your average Energy Star home, and we aren’t interested in building anything less. However, we realize that there are many people who aren’t ready to invest in the type of building we do for Postgreen Homes, so we created the following scale. This scale of service is only a reference. We are willing to tailor our build more specifically to the needs and goals of each specific client, but this should provide a framework for the discussion.

A clarification of terms . . .

ACH@50Pa – This stands for Air Changes Per Hour at 50 Pascal and refers to the blower door test standard by which we judge our homes air-tightness. Most homes have trouble reaching even the Energy Star base of 4.5, but we have developed a variety of construction details, techniques and careful oversight to far exceed this target.

HRV/ERV – Heat Recovery Ventilator/Energy Recovery Ventilator. Any well built home needs mechanical ventilation to maintain healthy indoor air quality. We use these devices because they exchange air without wasting the energy you have used to condition that air. Higher level ones do this most efficiently, but all are a vast improvement over a simple fan.

gpm/gpf – Gallons Per Minute/Gallons Pef Flush. These are important measurements for understanding water use. We obviously aim for the lowest numbers possible while accounting for performance.

CFL – Compact Fluorescent Light. These have reached the level of common knowledge for the most part. They are very efficient, long lasting bulbs that come in a variety of forms.

LED – Light Emitting Diode. Super-efficient LED lights are still in the early stages of their development. The ones that are good enough to be useful in home lighting are fairly expensive, but their miserly energy demands and long life still make them attractive.