ENERTIA   HOMES No Fuel? No Power? .......No Problem

ADVANTAGES

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The Enertia® Building System uses a different technology for energy efficiency than most homes being built today. Heating energy is stored in the structure of the home, rather than in the volume of air trapped within the home. We can do this because our structure is massive, and of a material that stores energy within the comfort range of 60 to 80 degrees F. Storing energy in air has its limits. When air is used to store energy, the only way it can store more is to get hotter, and breathing hotter air leads to drowsiness. When the structure stores the energy the walls, floors, and ceilings are warm, while the contained air can remain cooler and invigorating. It’s not a crisis when people and pets go in and out. In fact that’s an air change that is healthy - and the cool incoming air is reheated by the warm structure.

The homeowner gets a house that is dynamic and exciting. It is innovative and on the cutting edge of a new natural architecture.

Solid wood buildings, common in Europe and Scandinavia, are not seen much in America, except for log homes. The European timberhomes are most known for their benefits in the heating season. One of our innovations is in adapting the timbers' inertial properties and design for summer cooling needs, as well.
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Advantages to the homeowner:
The structure is stronger and safer. Particularly important is impact resistance, be it from debris thrown by a hurricane or tornado, or a stray hunter’s bullet.

There is no fear of power outages or fuel shortages. Solar heating and geothermal cooling keep the interior livable in a ‘worst case’ scenario of a blackout in extreme winter cold, or extreme summer heat - the times when a blackout or brownout is most likely.

Low operating costs. If purchased fuel or electricity is used as a supplement, or to maintain a precise set point automatically, the usage of fuel or power is low.
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• Long life. The life expectancy of timber homes is hundreds of years. The home can be passed on to children and future generations without passing on a huge upkeep or heating cost burden.

• Low Cost per Generation. Because many generations of famillies will live in the home, the long-term cost is very low.
• This grand inn, Ornasstugan, was built in the 16th century and is believed to be the oldest commercial log structure in Europe.
• Comfort. The heat in your Enertia® house living space is radiant- the most comfortable heat known. Wooden walls are more comfortable to be near than cold hard materials. Not having drafts in the inner shell allows comfort at lower air temperatures. Not having blowing air from a furnace duct means less dust, and less cleaning. Thermal Inertia dampens out the extremes of temperature and the geothermal loop equalizes conditions around the house.

• Economy from the Kit Form.
Many Enertia® homes have been built or contracted, by the homeowners, from our precut and numbered kits. The potential for savings is considerable.
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• Traditional or Contemporary look, adaptable styles. The home can usually be designed to fit in with existing subdivisions or historic districts.
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• Future friendly. Each house is already designed and set-up for being off-the-grid and capable of generating all its own power. The access provided by the unique Geothermal Loop space means all parts of the house are easily reached, without tearing into the walls, anytime in the future. It is easy to upgrade pipes and wiring, or add new technology. .
• Glue Lam Technology. Laminated timbers are put to their most innovative use. The energy source and the structure are “Sustainable” and “Green” - the latest positive trend in home-building.
Health Advantages:
• Lack of Indoor Air Pollution. In some recent extremely tight houses, the fumes from particleboard, carpet, and plastics have lead to ‘sick building syndrome’ Since the Enertia® home breathes, and does not rely on tightness for its efficiency, this is not a problem.
• Cooler air to breathe in winter. This is a benefit to radiant heating as opposed to forced air heat.
• Fresh air ventilation in summer. The outer geothermal loop is always vented and open in summer. Even if the inner shell is closed and air-conditioned in hot humid Southern climates, the breathing walls freshen and filter that air.
• A built-in Greenhouse. The sunspace, both on the main level and in the basement is a natural greenhouse for growing plants- plants that produce oxygen and add general well-being to the occupants.
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Advantages to the Builder:
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• Speed of Construction. One component, the engineered laminated wall segment, takes the place of the many layered materials, and many tradespersons needed in conventional stick-frame construction.
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• Less waste, and scrap, on the jobsite. Only what is needed is shipped- plus a few spares in case of damage during assembly.
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• Fewer skilled carpenters. In most cases only one skilled carpenter is needed. The bulk of the kit construction is by Assembly, following the numbers of the precut kit.
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• Income Opportunity. This is a unique and innovative product that will be in increased demand as energy prices rise. The dealership network is still in its beginning, or is, as builders say: a “ground floor” opportunity. You can represent and build a product that you feel good about- and that helps the environment.
Advantages to the Environment:
Natural Heating and Cooling. Furnaces and Air-conditioners are one of the largest sources of pollution, because of what happens back at the power plant, and the energy lost in transmission.
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• Renewable Materials. The entire Enertia® kit is made from renewable material. This material, wood, is manufactured by the sun through photosynthesis, and the process cleans the air while making wood from Carbon Dioxide.

• Damage is Undone. The heavy timbers of your Enertia® home lock-up, or “sequester” carbon. Removing carbon from the atmosphere and environment is one of the most promising ways to repair the damage from past burning of fossil fuels..
• Low Embodied Energy. Not only is wood renewable, but very little energy is needed to process it - far, far less than steel, plastics, or brick. This lowers pollution in the manufacture of the house, as well as in the operation of it.
• Long life benefits the Environment. As many as ten conventional homes will be built and torn down within the lifespan of one timberhome. The toxic and energy-intensive materials of those 30-50 year structures will harm the earth many times, and will have to be land-filled many times as well. Not to mention the labor, transportation of labor and materials, and multiple disturbance to the land.
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Already considering a Passive Solar or underground home?

• Passive solar has limits. To use enough glass for direct gain will certainly overheat the southern rooms. In the Enertia® design the passive solar is indirect, energy goes into the loop which prevents overheating, moves the energy to the north where it is needed most, and moves it away from the glass where it would be lost again at night.
• Underground Stability. The geothermal loop connection with the earth gives the Enertia® house the benefits of an underground house in an above-ground structure.