The Lefebvre home, a Riverbend Timber Frame home has received a high-energy rating of 86 from EnerGuide, an equivalent of EnergyStar in Canada. The home situated in Calgary, Alberta, Canada was designed, not with the objective of achieving high energy ratings, but with the aim of showcasing the homeowner’s aesthetic taste.
Custom Timber Frame Great Room
Lefebvre stated that the family intended to bring the traditional Quebec City to Canada. He said that since they admire old Quebec City’s architecture, the house was constructed using timber frame, lots of rock and huge porches in the back and front. With a traditional design, an energy rating of 86 is truly amazing. This was achieved by laying the foundation with Advantage insulated concrete forms (ICFs) and enclosing it with Insulspan structural insulated panels (SIPs) along with the conventional tenon joinery and mortise. These excellent insulation panels are used in all Riverbend home designs to protect the framing. Other products that have been used for the project include a passive solar panel, Plasti-span insulation under the basement slab and radiant heating.
These facilities ensure that the Lefebvre home is well-heated during winter costing just around $200 to heat the 6,100 sq.ft home. Added to the reduced energy costs, since the home is highly rated, it is eligible for an energy-efficiency rebate of $10,000. The Western Sales Manager of Riverbend, Brent Cooper helped the Lefebvres on the project and said that he is glad that the house achieved that rating. He believes that this achievement is mainly due to the insulating materials that Riverbend utilizes for construction. According to him, the tight building shell enables Riverbend customers to take pleasure in the elegant open frame timber design and domed spaces, yet maintaining energy costs. The home owner, Steven Lefebvre felt that the design flexibility and the usage of robust materials were the major reasons for choosing Riverbend for the construction of his new home.
Source: http://www.riverbendtf.com