Wellington Builders | Design & Architecture Services | Eco-Friendly Design | High Performing Home | Structural Insulated Panels | Energy-Efficient Home
Does the dream of building a home seem to be slipping away more and more these days because of climbing interest rates, increases in material costs and material delays? There's got to be a way we can be smarter about building homes, right?
Yes, there is! Green Abode's solution to this is Structural Insulated Panel (SIP) homes. We firmly believe that SIPs are the way to go, especially now. Our panels are manufactured here in New Zealand, meaning there are no shipping delays or international freight costs. Sure, they cost a little more to build upfront, but in the long run, the energy savings more than make up for it.
As a plus, our panels are environmentally friendly because the EPS within the panels is recyclable, the OSB board comes from Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) managed forests, and the panels are cut to size in the factory leaving minimal waste on-site. You can read more about the environmentally friendly aspect of our panels, here. So, building a Green Abode home not only reduces shipping costs and delays but also leaves less of a carbon footprint on the planet.
Building smarter doesn’t necessarily mean a home run on technology. It means better design, being energy-efficient, healthy, and smaller in size.
Let’s explore these a little closer:
Building smarter means better design
Better design considers the occupant’s current lifestyle but is also adaptable to future changes. It also makes use of natural resources such as the sun and wind to supply the home with natural energy.
Building smarter means energy efficiency
This means having a thermally efficient envelope to ensure the house stays warm in winter and cool in summer. The flow-on effect is a reduction in monthly power bills because 40% of a home’s energy usage is related to heating and cooling. You can read more about building a net-zero energy home here: 9 things to consider when designing a net-zero energy home
Building smarter means healthier homes
As part of New Zealand’s push toward reducing climate change and ensuring our buildings can withstand changing climate conditions, the New Zealand Building Code has been updated. One of the changes being implemented by the end of this year is increasing the insulation R-value for roofs, windows, walls and underfloor. For timber homes, this means yet another hike in the cost of materials to achieve the new requirements. No need to worry though - the R values in Green Abode SIP homes already meet these new standards.
In addition, our homes are airtight, and this means there is no free-flowing air within the walls of our panels which means a mould, damp, and bacteria-free home. Special ventilation systems also contribute to a healthy home by filtering air particles, pollutants, and allergens before they enter the home.
Building smarter means building smaller
All Green Abode homes are built according to our client's needs and wishes, but we do encourage building houses with a smaller physical footprint. Compact homes cost less to build, maintain, and heat. Bigger is certainly not necessarily better when it comes to building a smart home.
We are super passionate about helping New Zealanders live in healthier, warmer homes that don't cost an arm and a leg to maintain and leave less of an impact on our planet. Because of this, we are in the middle of developing a range of transportable homes that we hope to have available by the end of the year.
These homes will be a fantastic solution for people looking to build a healthy home at the fraction of a cost of a typical new build. They are slightly smaller than your average New Zealand home (72m2 for a one-bedroom, 90m2 for a 1- and 2-bedroom and 162m2 for a 3- and 4-bedroom home), but with all the smart features listed above. We can’t wait to introduce these to the market!
We CAN build smarter, not harder.
If you’re interested to find out more about building your very own smart home, please give us a call on 0800 368 470. We’d love to chat with you!
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