5 Energy Features that Set an Empire Home ApartAt Empire, we pride ourselves in creating beautiful homes for all of life’s moments to unfold. We also pride ourselves on the home comfort features that go above building code and allow for a healthier and more cost-effective home. Read on to discover the energy-efficient advantages you’ll have when you purchase an Empire home.
Continuous Insulation
Empire homes have a continuous layer of insulation around the building’s envelope, which adds 20% more insulation overall. This results in up to 6% improvement in annual energy and makes your home more comfortable, as it doesn’t cool as fast during colder months or heat as quickly in warmer months.
2-Stage Furnace
Empire uses a 96% efficient 2-stage furnace, or a high-velocity multi-stage air handler. Each product has an ECM motor, which consumer 50% less electricity than a standard furnace. There is also a comfort benefit when using either a 2-stage system or a high-velocity air handler, as they do not cycle on and off as often as a standard furnace would.
ERV for Improved Air Quality
To help control indoor air quality, Empire’s homes include an ERV, which helps retain some of the moisture from the house (an HRV does not). An ERV helps create a healthier home by exhausting stale air and bringing in fresh air, saving on energy.
Airtightness
Empire verifies air-tightness on all homes through third party testing to ensure that we are up to 20% better than building code on average. This brings us to the three “C’s:” comfort, cost and condensation. This creates a more comfortable home due to fewer drafts and higher indoor humidity in the winter, and is cost-saving due to less air leakage (up to 20% reduction compared to code-built homes), minimizing chances of condensation.
LED Bulbs
Empire installs only LED lightbulbs throughout our homes, which are 75% more efficient than incandescent bulbs.
Overall, an Empire Better than Code home consumes up to 20% less energy annually than a standard code-built home. Explore our communities across Southwestern Ontario to find the home that’s perfect for you and your family, and be sure to speak with a member of our sales team to learn more about the features that set our homes apart. We look forward to welcoming you into the Empire family.