At HBM, we understand there is little benefit to purchasing a large custom home if you can barely afford to keep it warm in the winter and cool in the summer. With rising energy costs, as a builder, we need to invest more so you can save later. We build all of our custom homes to be extremely energy efficient.
Our energy program includes:
- Gold Energy Program - Every home we build goes through a thorough energy on-site review & seal process to ensure air leakage and potential energy loss is stopped at the source before we drywall. This same program checks each home for hot and cold spots using the latest equipment prior to completion, vacuum tests each home, and certifies each home as Energy Star compliant. This rigorous energy process is seldomly done in the custom home building process.
- 2"x6" exterior framing for superior insulation over traditional 2"x4" framing. No matter what you hear, insulation simply cannot make up the difference of starting with a thicker exterior wall! The extra sound insulation you will receive is just an extra bonus of investing in better framing. 2"x6" framing also allows us to use wood sheathing on the entire house for superior shear strength and solid mounting surfaces vs. the foam sheathing many builder's must use on exterior walls to achieve basic R-values.
- "Dual fuel" heating and cooling system (matching a large, 90%+ efficient gas furnace with a high capacity heat pump) to provide the most efficient energy combination while delivering "warm heat" during the coldest winter days
- Comprehensive insulation package around the garage, attic, rim joists, and main house with R22+ exterior walls using blown insulation
- Dual, high efficiency 50 gallon water heaters to provide ample hot water with outstanding efficiency
- Upgraded, Andersen 400 series windows or Pella Architect series windows. There is no way to fully control energy costs without investing in a better window!
Using these techniques, HBM can build the large custom home you desire while keeping your energy bills in check. The extra money we spend to build homes this way is paid back to our owners each and every month. With rising energy bills, this can be the difference between being able to "purchase your home" and truly being able to "afford your home".