When Gary and I started out in 1986, we didn’t have a fancy mission statement for our company but we knew we shared a passion to build the best homes possible. Since then, houses have not only increased in size and complexity, they have also increased in quality of finishes and become more earth-friendly.  The size of the staff at Calvis Wyant Luxury Homes has increased as well.  It takes more of us to ensure that we are still accomplishing what we started out to do: build the best homes possible. The construction techniques we use to produce a “well built” home now largely translate into building a “green” home. A green home uses resources efficiently and avoids any negative impact on health and the general environment. Although only a few of our clients are willing to spend what it takes to use solar panels and collect rainwater, all of them are interested in using resources efficiently. There are some basic design and building techniques that save so much energy and so greatly enhance comfort that you should include them in your home-no matter what shade of “green” fits you best:

     1.  Design a home for our region

     Everyone wants a home with lots of natural light that assures enjoyment of our outdoor-centered lifestyle. We always use enough fenestration (that’s builder-speak for windows) to make the home bright and uplifting. At the same time, we incorporate appropriate amounts of patio cover and overhangs into our designs to properly shade as many doors and windows as possible. Our floor plans and elevations pay attention to the sun’s position throughout the year to minimize heat gain and maximize views.

     2.  Engineer the cooling system and use good equipment

     We have engineers who perform the necessary calculations to properly select and size our heating and air-conditioning equipment. A well designed system will last longer and make you feel more comfortable. You’ll often see “High SEER” (seasonal energy efficiency rating,) “HVAC” (heating, ventilating and air conditioning,) units advertised in marketing materials but high SEERs alone won’t do the job if the system isn’t designed correctly. This has to be done at the design development stage of the plan process so that there’s actually room behind the walls and ceilings to route air delivery systems for maximum efficiency.                                                 

     3.  Seal the metal ducts

     Sounds pretty obvious, doesn’t it? Surprisingly, many homes omit this critical step and rely on the crimped mechanical joints between sections of metal duct work. Large amounts of conditioned – and expensive – air escape the system at these joints if they are not sealed with mastic made for that purpose. And every time there is a loss of air on either the supply or return side of the system, the result is a pressure imbalance that causes the A/C equipment to work even harder on a hot day.

     4.  Don’t crimp the flex ducts

     Most homes these days will have some flexible air ducts which are suspended by strapping as needed along their path. The highest quality flex duct is a great product and will deliver air efficiently through non-linear spaces. But its flexibility is often abused by forcing it to make tight turns that restrict air flow. Again, the route for the ducts must be developed early in the design stage so that efficient air delivery doesn’t conflict with the aesthetics of a room.

     5.  Use dampers to control delivery

     Installed throughout the duct system are a series of adjustable dampers. These dampers can be controlled electronically to regulate the airflow to each room thereby delivering just the right amount of cooling where it’s needed.

     6.  Energy saving framing techniques

     As a former carpenter, I can tell you that the framing techniques of today are far superior to the days of yore. We now specify framing methods and blocking to stop heat convection currents from moving around inside the walls and ceilings. The framing works with the insulation package to form a barrier between the “friendly” environment inside the home and the “hostile” environment outside the insulation cocoon.

    7.  Keep the air handlers inside the insulation

     Often the leakiest part of the A/C system is at the housing of the air handler, that’s the big unit that often sits on top of a platform with duct work coming out of the top. The most efficient location for the air handler is inside the insulation cocoon, not on the outside of the house or out in the garage with the gas fumes, bugs and dust. Another good place is often the attic, but only if the home has been insulated in “cathedral” fashion.

     8.  “Cathedralize” the insulation 

      Until recently, the typical home was insulated behind all the exterior walls and across the top of the ceilings. That method of insulation is the easiest to install as an insulation crew can merely get into the attic and “blow” the ceiling with cellulose insulation through a hose. Of course, that means that the attic spaces above the ceiling insulation are extremely hot during our Phoenix summers. That heat slowly transfers through the insulation into the living spaces below and also into any A/C ducts that often run through the typically superheated attics. A more efficient way to insulate is to install the insulation at the “cathedral” or roof line above the attic, thereby keeping the attic much cooler-usually only a few degrees warmer than the living spaces below. Naturally, the attic temperature situation in cathedralized homes is far more efficient. Heat gain is reduced in the living spaces as well as any ducts located in the now cooler attics.

     9.  Use return air ducts in every room

     Have you ever had a home with a bedroom or some other room that didn’t heat or cool properly when the door was shut? When the A/C kicks on, a blast of cool air runs through the supply duct into that room. If the room has a return air duct, the increase in air pressure in the room from the newly introduced conditioned air is immediately offset by the vacuum created at the return air grille and air circulates as it should. However, if there is no return air duct in the room and the door is shut, the room becomes temporarily pressurized. The increased pressure in the room prevents some of the new colder air from entering and you suddenly have a room that won’t ever heat or cool correctly.  This problem is eliminated by designing return air ducts for all areas of the home.

     10.  Use third party inspectors to test the work

     Our A/C crews know that their work is going to be tested by independent third party inspectors on every one of our homes and those inspectors are not afraid to fail the job if it doesn’t meet our standards. Once word got out that we were hiring an outside company to test our duct work for leakage on every home, the crews responsible for installing air delivery systems rose to the occasion and made sure that their work always passed the first time!

     Are there more things that we do in each home that can make a difference? Absolutely!  Building science is always changing but you can count on us to hold fast to our mission while staying abreast of new information and technology.

     Calvis Wyant builds “green” homes” - we’ve just been calling them something else all these years!

Calvis Wyant is proud to be the recipient of three Design Excellence Awards presented by Residential Design & Build Magazine. These awards honor the best in Design and Business in the Custom Home Market.

This past summer, their panel of judges examined hundreds of entries for their 2008 Excellence Awards. The end result is a group of 30 elite projects that range from a custom home with more than 7,000 sq. ft. to details as specific as an architectural element.

Judges on this year’s panel included Mark Perlman, president, Empeco Custom Builders; John Anstad, AIA, managing principal, Orren Pickell Design Group; Tracy Holmes, president, Studio H Designs; and Craig Ciaglia, general manager, Homes by Pinnacle.

We invite you to learn more about these presigious awards and the winning projects:

EXCELLENCE AWARD IN HOME OFFICE	EXCELLENCE AWARD IN OUTDOOR LIVING AREA
EXCELLENCE AWARD IN SPECIALITY ROOM

To see more from Award-Winning Calvis Wyant Luxury Homes click here.

FROM NEXT EDGE VIDEO:   
The Emmy® Nominations for 2008 are in and we are thrilled to be recognized!  
We are honored to announce our nomination for the prestigious Emmy® Award for excellence in Photography/Videography in Advanced Media presented by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS). The honor is particularly meaningful because it recognizes our luxury home video division and our Internet broadcasting of these beautiful homes, communities and lifestyles. From the beginning, it was a project near and dear to our hearts and we would like to thank all of our wonderful clients for embracing the concept and being so kind-hearted in your praise. We would also like to congratulate everyone on their marketing success with the videos. We are thrilled when we get your notes and emails about how happy you and your clients are. 
 
We would like to extend a special thank you to Tony Calvis of Calvis Wyant Luxury Homes and Marv & Karen Leff of Realty Executives International Premier Marketing Group for their enthusiasm from the beginning and giving us such beautiful material to work with.
 
The Emmy® Nomination was given for our portfolio of  work which included a magnificent Calvis Wyant estate in Silverleaf (Click here to see DC-1522 Video) and a profile of upscale sophisticated living at Scottsdale Waterfront Residences (with a breakout cameo by Mr. Marv Leff). To view these videos, please click through to our website www.nextedgevideo.com