First we hold a series of meetings with our clients to help us understand their expectations, needs and desires. Our goal is to make every new home LEED for homes certified. With this goal our homes will take advantage of the sites natural characteristics, for example site topography, solar orientation and natural shading. Our homes use less electric, natural gas, and water then non-LEED certified homes and since LEED certification is awarded by a third-party you are assured of the advantages.
With all of our homes we start by preparing a sun study to analyze the best solar orientation and home location. Proper solar orientation allows the most natural day-lighting to help reduce the use of artificial lighting therefore, your home uses less energy. Next we develop a durability plan to help determine the sites characteristics in regards to soil type, ground water, energy star climate zone, annual rainfall, wind speed, and average solar rating. We then develop a site stewardship plan to protect the existing grass and trees. Disturbing as little of the site as possible is very important to us. Site topography is also looked at from a professional approach. Storm water run-off has become a major problem in many cities and villages due to overbuilding on sites and overcrowding in new sub-divisions. One goal is to ensure that all storm water is properly drained away from the home and does not flood the neighboring properties. Another goal in our evaluation of site topography is to determine the best rain-harvesting solution whether it be an above ground rain garden or an underground water cistern.
The next stage is the planning process that involves three stages and three corresponding meetings. The three stages are schematic design, design development and construction documents. Schematic design is a process that includes layout of rooms and spaces showing relationship and general sizes. Design development incorporates refinement of plans based on the schematic design meeting. It also includes the selection of exterior finishes and colors. Construction documents include detailing of certain areas, further refinement of plans, elevations, sections, and are used to build the house.
The first step in the construction process is securing a building permit. Vertex Architects has expedited the permit process because we are the architect and we can make the revisions within our own staff. Vertex Architects has skilled, reputable sub-contractors that we have developed a working relationship with and they are aware of our high expectations. The construction schedule is also reduced due to our knowledge and training as architects. Our construction documents also have a great detail of information which eliminates confusion and questions from the sub-contractors. The Average construction schedule is eight months. Another aspect of construction that Vertex Architects takes great pride in is that our method of design and construction uses zero waste. Zero waste means that all of our building products are recyclable. Our method also uses less material which equates to less expensive construction budgets.
A Vertex Architects home will use less energy to operate then many other homes available. Our homes qualify for a $2,000 federal tax credit http://www.energy.gov/taxbreaks.htm. We achieve this through home features such as: whole house in-floor radiant heat, tankless instantaneous water heaters, solar photo-voltaic panels, and rain-harvesting systems.
The radiant floor heating system uses a 93% high efficiency hot water boiler to heat water that re-circulates through 1/2” plastic tubes. It is more efficient than forced-air systems because there is no heat loss through ductwork. It is also healthier especially for people with allergies because there is no moving air to circulate dust and dander.
For more info click on the link below:
http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/your_home/space_heating_cooling/index.cfm/mytopic=12590
Tankless water heaters or instantaneous water heaters only heat water on demand. They drastically reduce the amount of energy to heat water versus hot water tanks. They account for $300 of your federal tax credit. Tankless water heaters are considerably smaller for more efficient use of space. They also use a digital thermostat to accurately show you the water temperature.
For more info click on the links below:
http://rheemtankless.com/content/learn/energyTaxCredit.html
http://rheemtankless.com/content/documents/TaxCreditCertification.pdf
Photo-voltaic solar systems are used to covert sunlight into energy. A 1.6 kilo-watt solar system is used to offset electricity costs by as much as 25% and through the use of net-metering energy can be sold back to the grid. The system consists of 9 solar panels, a grid-tied inverter and an external power disconnect. The solar photo-voltaic panels are mounted on the homes roof using a uni-rac ballast mounting system.
For more info click on the links below:
http://www.chicagosolarpartnership.org
http://findsolar.com/index.php?page=rightforme
Rain-harvesting is the process of collecting rain water and storm water run-off for re-use. Collected water can be used for grey-water to flush toilets and landscape irrigation systems. One method of harvesting is the use of an underground water cistern. These polyethylene cisterns will not rust or corrode. Water can be collected from downspouts and or rain gardens that are connected directly to the water cistern.
For more info click on the link below: