When building a New Home, or Remodeling your existing home, a big part of the design process should focus on the heating and cooling systems. New building and energy efficiency codes are requiring performance of both the mechanical systems and the building envelope that are far exceed anything seen in the past. The Department of Energy recently held the Building America Technical Update meeting in Denver and discussed current issues and future trends in building mechanical systems. It looks like there will be systems available in the future that could reduce overall heating and cooling energy requirements by as much as 90%. They also discussed innovative ideas like radiant floor cooling? Sounds interesting, and it is definitely something we here at REEF, Cape Cod's Home Builder will continue to investigate.
Here is the full article from builderonline.com: Energy Efficiency Update