Pacesetter Homes Saskatchewan is one of the leading home builders in Energy – Efficient home construction.
Our homes are expertly designed to be energy efficient and reduce our carbon footprint. Every home is tested by a third party to ensure airtightness resulting in a 15% more energy-efficient than the national reference house. Each home receives an EnerGuide certification.
We are constantly working to increase our energy efficiency. We’re currently experimenting with new cost-effective ways to construct NetZero Ready homes. Our most recent building, at 104 Forsey Avenue in Saskatoon, was featured as a NetZero demonstration project as part of the Saskatoon Parade of Homes.
What does this mean for you as a homeowner?
So how do we achieve this high standard?
The airtightness of your home is supported by a 96 percent energy-efficient furnace with an HRV system. It helps to reduce air leakage, which means less draft, noise, and odors, as well as lost heated and cooled air in the winter and summer. An HRV system works by continuously supplying you with fresh air while recovering heat from the stale air being exhausted from your home. As a result, you’ll be able to maintain a more pleasant and healthy indoor atmosphere. A programmable WIFI thermostat can help you control the temperature in each room in your house on any given day. We also ensure that our mechanical systems are designed to the home size, ensuring equal distribution of heating and cooling systems.
In your home, you are provided with a direct vent hot water heater. Due to the high cost of electricity in Saskatchewan, this saves you over $500 per year compared to an electric water heater.
Our homes include triple-glazed, low-E windows filled with argon gas that are designed to maximize your home’s energy efficiency by preventing air and water leakage through their five-seal defence system. All windows and doors are sealed with a top-of-the-line waterproof membrane and insulated with spray foam to ensure airtightness.
You want your home to be as airtight as possible to eliminate drafts and maintain an even temperature throughout your home. This means that it is important to properly seal around all windows and doors, vents, and electrical outlets. Our homes come standard with R50 blown-in ceiling insulation, and we go above the standard building code for our climate by using spray foam sealant at all attic penetrations. We also use vapour-sealed electrical boxes on all exterior walls and attics to eliminate drafts. Lower utility bills result from an airtight home that will help with the cost of new home ownership and add great resale value to your home!
High-efficiency LED lighting is used throughout our homes, which cuts down on energy consumption and has a longer life span and shouldn’t need to be replaced for up to 15 years! LEDs use less energy than other bulbs, which allows them last about 25,000 hours on average.
Prior to drywall being installed in our homes, we complete a thermal imaging test to ensure that no areas in the home lack insulation.
We use low flow toilets, showerheads, and faucets, with our standard now being dual flush toilets.
We use a high-efficiency HRV (Heat Recovery Ventilator) to ensure air freshness. In addition, we use Hypo-Allergenic premium carpet underlay, and all of the paints we use are low VOC (volatile organic compound). After completing all construction, we do a complete cleaning of all ductwork to ensure no dust or drywall particles remain in the vents.
Lots are chosen with the orientation of homes in mind to take advantage of future solar panel generation and passive solar gain from window locations. We also select lots close to each other to increase building efficiencies while reducing carbon emissions and waste.
Making a home NetZero Ready
A NetZero Ready home means that with the installation of solar panels this home can generate all of the energy it needs to for heating, cooling and daily living by the future homeowners.
We’ve accomplished this by improving the airtightness of the home, selecting energy-efficient mechanical systems and using industry-leading building practices throughout the home.
Click on the icons around the home to learn more.
Making a home NetZero Ready
A NetZero Ready home means that with the installation of solar panels, this home can generate all of the energy it needs for heating, cooling, and daily living by the future homeowners.
We’ve accomplished this by improving the home’s air tightness, selecting energy-efficient mechanical systems, and using industry-leading building practices throughout the home.