From east to west, from north to south, Canadian winters are anything but mild or predictable. The sheer variety of natural landmarks and weather conditions found across Canada in a single day is a feature of this country that makes it truly unique. Canadians don’t have to go far to experience a whole new world.

Our varied landscape, while excellent for travel, is not so great for constructing strong, flawless homes that will stand the test of time. Fortunately, prefabricated building techniques and innovative technologies are making it easier and more affordable to build energy efficient homes that are beautiful, comfortable and sustainable.

Here are 5 ways Lamelli creates high performance homes that take the harshness out of Canada’s winters:

Passive Solar Design

Passive solar design uses the sun’s energy to collect heat as the sun shines through south-facing windows and retains it. The proportion of a home’s heating load that can be met by passive solar design depends on the amount of glass and thermal mass. A well-designed passive solar home will provide daylight year round and warmth in the winter.

While this concept may seem simple, the details of designing a passive solar home can be tedious. At Lamelli, we use computer models to simulate the elevation, climate and sun exposure of a building site to determine the ideal building orientation, insulation, amount and type of glazing, thermal mass location and other details. Read our blog about passive solar design to learn more.

Airtight Building Envelope

Modular homes are crafted with factory precision, resulting in all the seams fitting much more closely than they do in conventional site-built homes. The building envelope of a Lamelli home prevents significantly less external air from making its way into the home. The result is a home that stays warm in the winter and cool in the summer with less wear and tear on heating and cooling systems.

‍

Superior Insulation

‍

Choosing the right insulation materials is crucial to building a high performance home that can withstand harsh Canadian winters. At the same time, it is important to build sustainable homes, especially if you are trying to meet passive house certifications. At Lamelli, we have carefully reviewed all the insulation choices on the market and selected polyurethane foam board insulation for our structural insulated panels.

Using polyurethane foam eliminates thermal bridges, complex joints and substructures. It is also ultra dense and extremely efficient, which makes it easy to keep structures light and sleek, especially in the northernmost territories and the Yukon. Our insulated panels can be used to form the exterior of your home and in the roof to achieve R values as high as 40-60, suitable for harsh winters.  Read more about why we chose polyurethane foam in this blog.

Radiant Heated Floors

Hot air rises, so doesn’t it make more sense to heat your home from the bottom up? That’s the concept behind radiant heated floors, plus they make your floors feel comfortable to the touch on those cold winter mornings. Radiant heating is also free of the drafts and hot spots associated with standard forced-air systems.

Radiant heated floors work by transferring heat to surfaces, objects and air above the floor. The heat is generated by hot water flowing through tubes or electric cables beneath the floor. Our radiant heated floors are cost-effective, energy efficient, easy to install, low maintenance and compatible with almost any floor covering you desire. Read our blog about radiant heated floors to learn more.

Heat Recovery Ventilation Systems

Once heat has been generated, it must be retained- that’s why a tight building envelope is one of the pillars of passive design. But how can this be accomplished without the indoor air becoming stale? The answer is heat recovery ventilation systems.

Heat recovery ventilations systems recover heat from air exiting the building while bringing in fresh air. This system ensures that there is a continuous supply of fresh air from the outside while heat is retained. Not only do HRVs significantly lower energy bills, they also prevent condensation and mold and put less strain on heating systems, making them last longer. Read this blog to learn more about the advantages of heat recovery ventilation systems.

In addition to lowering energy bills and providing superior comfort, Lamelli’s homes and technologies are low-maintenance and durable. Contact us today to get started on building a dream home that will stand the test of time and provide significant energy savings across its lifetime.