Featuring: R.H. Irving Homebuilders
“Homebuilders have both the opportunity and the obligation to do something about global warming and the energy crisis. We can build fossil fuel-free homes that use far less energy, that contribute less carbon to the atmosphere and that will be more healthful to live in. And, since houses can last 100-200 years or longer, these will be enduring contributions to the world.” – Bob Irving, owner of RH Irving Homebuilders
By N.R. Mallery
Starting with this issue of Green Energy Times, we will feature green and energy-efficient builders from around the northeast.
We will focus on trusted builders that can help you achieve your goals for energy efficiency and that understand why it is so important to build with the utmost efficiency in mind — that sustainable building starts with an efficient building envelope for both new construction and existing buildings.
Wikipedia describes Green building as “a structure that is using a process that is environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building’s life-cycle: from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition. The Green Building practice expands and complements the classical building design concerns of economy, utility, durability, and comfort.”
One objective common to all green buildings is to eliminate negative impacts of the building and its use on both human health and the environment. This is done by efficient use of resources, especially energy and water, and by reducing waste and emissions to avoid environmental degradation. The comfort of the human occupants is always an issue, and in a business environment, productivity should be considered.
Since buildings use over 40% of energy consumed in this country, homebuilders have a unique opportunity to contribute to reducing our fuel usage by utilizing proven techniques to make houses more energy-efficient. By doing so, the house becomes more comfortable and easier and more affordable to maintain. Every efficiency improvement implemented today reduces the amount of energy needed tomorrow.
The goal: ultra-low-energy homes.
R.H. Irving Homebuilders’ mission is to build Net Zero Ready, comfortable, affordable homes that are enjoyable to live in. Located in Salisbury, NH, Bob Irving has over forty years of evolving experience that started with super-insulated timber frame homes, most of which were enclosed with structural insulated panels (SIP’s), and evolved into high performance homes utilizing standard “stick” as well as modular construction.
Today, with the rapid increase in financial and environmental costs of fossil fuels, and resultant climate change from fuels’ use, the need for building practices that place energy conservation in the forefront is back. “People are once again asking for truly energy-efficient homes,” says Irving, whose expertise in this area is once again in high demand. Irving has studied passive house design and construction as well as Net-Zero building and has dedicated his business exclusively to these levels of high performance building. He also specializes in upgrading existing homes to high performance levels through “deep energy retrofits” which involve thorough air sealing and extensive insulation upgrades. DERs typically upgrade the exterior of the home, so the interior remains unchanged and the process is hassle-free for those living there.
R.H. Irving Homebuilders, having built dozens of passive solar and energy efficient homes in a wide variety of designs all over New Hampshire and around New England, has extensive knowledge of high performance building practices, including super insulation, triple-glazed windows, airtight construction, heat recovery ventilation systems, fossil fuel-free heating and cooling as well as designs that utilize natural daylight and passive solar heat. Most of all, the high performance building practices “fulfill an obligation we builders all have to do something about global warming and the energy crisis,” states Bob Irving.
In the coming weeks, RH Irving Co., Inc. will be offering several new Net Zero home designs, available in modular or site built versions. These designs by one of the region’s premier high performance architectural firms can be customized to meet the client’s needs, and complete architectural custom design is also available.
Learn more about RH Irving Homebuilders at rhirvinghomebuilders.com. (603) 648-2635, or Bob@rhirvinghomebuilders.
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