Category: energy efficiency

When you build a custom home to high-performance or passive home standards, one of the primary objectives is to lower the home’s heating and cooling costs. In traditional construction, heat loss through your walls, roof, and windows can drive up your heating bill. It might surprise you to learn that most heat loss is through the walls – about 35 percent! And, even though warm air rises, you're losing ten percent more heat through your walls than out your roof. The opposite holds true when temperatures outside are hot. A standard home will absorb heat through the walls at higher rates, even...


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From where you put your windows, to how you position your home on your lot, the right location is a significant consideration in high-efficiency homebuilding. To build a modern custom home at the highest end of energy conservation and comfort, a whole-house approach to design and systems function takes careful consideration and planning. Harnessing the sun, nature's most potent energy source, can be done in a way that is both incredibly cost-effective as well as aesthetically beautiful. By utilizing passive home building techniques, the sun becomes our ally in energy efficiency, environmental...


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At Clarum, we believe your home should be comfortable, beautiful, easy to maintain – and above all, create a healthy environment for you and your family. And it makes sense: the average American spends 90% of their time indoors. Because of this, it’s key to pay attention to the health and sustainability factors of materials and construction practices when building your modern home. Where a home’s materials are sourced from is important, as well as the manufacturing methods of the products. When our team at Clarum selects home building materials, we consider questions such as: are the materials...


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At Clarum, the modern homes we build are both sleek and luxurious. We take great pride in our ability to weave together luxurious comfort with high levels of energy efficiency through passive-inspired design. During the building process, you can work with us to transform your home into a relaxing harbor that buffers you from the stress of the outside hustle and bustle. The Clarum team believes that comfort is an integral component of building a passive-inspired modern home. Our goal is to create luxurious havens that put people at ease and add to their wellbeing. We work closely with...


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Sustainability starts with a careful process A sustainable home is one that makes efficient use of resources and energy. It does not use up or destroy natural resources. This means that a home is only as environmentally-friendly as the materials used in its construction and the systems on which it runs. At Clarum Homes, our core purpose is to transform the way you live by creating greater comfort, greater health, and greater environmental sustainability. Where a home’s materials are sourced is important, as well as the manufacturing methods of the products. When the Clarum Homes team...


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In our last blog post, we discussed how LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification can bring your home to the next level. Between improved indoor air quality, greater energy efficiency, and even increased owner satisfaction, attaining this accreditation makes sense for eco-conscious consumers.     In part two of this LEED blog series, we’ll dive into what you should anticipate during the certification process and hear from the experts how to best navigate the process. The LEED certification process: What to expect While LEED certification involves...


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As we mentioned in our last post, Choosing Energy-Efficient Windows (Part 1) - Understanding U-Factor, selecting the right windows is a big decision when building a passive-inspired home. It’s also one of the most important elements for both energy efficiency and aesthetics. In this article, we’ll discuss another essential aspect of energy-performance rating in windows – the solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC).   How does energy flow through windows? As illustrated below, windows lose and gain heat by convection, radiation, conduction, and air leakage. Convection occurs...


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  Windows are a crucial component in the design of a house, and their aesthetic appeal can help support the overall style of the building. They allow daylight into the home and give us a visual connection to the outside world. We expect windows to let in fresh air and breezes when the weather is right. And – when the weather is unpleasant – we want our windows to be airtight with great thermal insulation. It should come as no surprise that windows play a huge role in the overall energy efficiency of your home. Windows help to moderate heat flow, making them a key contributor...


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  One of the most important (and often overlooked) energy efficiency factors in any home is its orientation. Believe it or not, how a house is oriented in relation to the sun can have a dramatic impact on heating and cooling – the largest energy contributor in most homes. A study by the Bonneville Power Administration found that homes re-oriented toward the sun (without any additional solar features) saved between 10% and 20% on heating costs. Not to mention – lots of natural light creates a desirable natural ambiance, contributing to your home’s overall comfort. While...


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Clarum is incredibly proud to have built the very first net-zero office building in Palo Alto. Our company is committed to creating comfortable, energy-efficient environments which reduce utility costs and promote ecological stewardship… and of course, our own office headquarters are no exception.     But what does having a new net-zero office building actually mean? Net-zero buildings Traditional commercial buildings consume 40% of the total fossil fuel energy in the US, and are significant contributors of greenhouse gases. With global climate change and rising energy...


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