La durabilité et l'utilisation efficace de l'espace vont de pair avec une belle architecture et sont des caractéristiques de Maisons design Turkel. Avec plus de 20% d’émissions de gaz à effet de serre aux États-Unis attribuable to heating, cooling, and powering the buildings we live in, it’s imperative that new homes not only use less energy than those that came before, but also avoid the burning of fossil fuels whenever possible. That’s why, as part of our systematized design traiter, nous encourageons les propriétaires à sélectionner des systèmes et des appareils économes en énergie.
Regardless of where you live, you want to be comfortable year-round. Wouldn’t it be great if that comfort were paired with consuming as few fossil fuels as possible and being smart about energy use and costs? Advancements in lighting, such as LED bulbs, have done their part to chip away at energy consumption in recent years. But what about heating and cooling? If you are seeking modern, sustainable living, the traditional oil or gas furnace or central air conditioning system may not fit your vision.
There are alternatives, however, that can provide more environmentally friendly and reliable solutions to home heating and cooling.
Une solution flexible
Les systèmes de pompes à chaleur constituent une de ces alternatives. Anne Hogarth, conseiller en énergie auprès de la société torontoise Chardonneret Énergie, says she often recommends heat pumps to her clients. “In colder climates, the heating system is your home’s largest energy drain, with the water heater a distant second,” she says. “Heat pumps bring your energy consumption down.”
Unlike a furnace, a heat pump system doesn’t create warm air. Instead, it collects heat from the surrounding atmosphere and brings it inside the home, or vice versa. In effect, it can replace both your heating system and your air conditioning.
Hogarth says the perception that such systems don’t work in extremely cold or warm climates is outdated. “There’s been a lot of development in ‘cold-climate heat pumps,’ which work in temperatures as low as -30 degrees Celsius (or –22 degrees Fahrenheit),” she says. Furthermore, most systems feature an electric heat backup system just in case—so you can ensure that your home remains at a comfortable temperature without relying on fossil fuels.
Adapté à tous les climats
Parce que Turkel Design travaille avec des propriétaires du monde entier, nous possédons une expertise dans la conception adaptée aux climats variés et changeants, ainsi qu'aux réglementations environnementales, partout en Amérique du Nord et au-delà. À mesure que les conditions météorologiques deviennent de plus en plus imprévisibles, la flexibilité d’un système de pompe à chaleur peut s’avérer salvatrice. Hogarth cite des récentes dômes chauffants in Vancouver, a city where many homes lack air-conditioning systems. Similarly, periodic ice storms in Texas have plagued homes with no furnace. A heat pump is an ideal solution for the unpredictable effects of climate change, in part, because it regulates the temperature in either direction.
Heat pumps improve your home’s livability in a number of ways. Because they deliver “ambient air all the time,” Hogarth describes the effect as “more gentle and steady” than a furnace. “You don’t get the peaks and valleys. People often find that they’re more comfortable in spaces conditioned by heat pumps.” Many ducted heat pump systems include air filtration components that help remove dust, allergens, and other airborne particles, thereby improving indoor air quality. Additionally, because the outdoor unit houses the majority of the system’s components, and the indoor air handlers are often whisper-quiet, many heat pump systems create surprisingly little noise.
Vous pourriez même les trouver utiles pour plusieurs espaces intérieurs et extérieurs. Par exemple, à Maison du Désert, Turkel Design’s “Living Lab” in Palm Springs, California, one heat pump system regulates temperature inside the home, while another heats the hot tub and pool.
Hogarth note que les deux États-Unis (dans le cadre de la loi sur la réduction de l’inflation) et Canada offer incentives for investing in heat pumps. In fact, as governments take stronger measures to limit the use of fossil fuels (for example, newly built homes in Quebec must be fossil fuel-free), heat pump systems are sure to rise in popularity.
Concevoir pour un mode de vie durable
Pour Turkel Design, le système choisi pour climatiser votre maison n'est qu'un aspect de la planification durable. Nous utilisons la prévisibilité de la préfabrication pour garantir que les maisons que nous concevons sont construites de manière plus étanche que la plupart, et nous incorporons systèmes et stratégies économes en énergie—from solar panels to passive heating and cooling—to make your home as environmentally sustainable as possible. Perhaps most importantly, when designing, we make efficient use of space, so that your home feels and lives bigger than it is, and you only heat and cool the space that you need.
Selecting an efficient heat pump system as an alternative to a fossil fuel-burning furnace might just be part of the plan that is right for your custom home.
Contactez-nous to discuss how you want to live.
