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Unity and BrightBuilt factory-built homes share an important feature: They are airtight, part of what makes them 60% more efficient than a standard home. GO Logic says its homes are even more efficient, requiring very little energy to keep cool or warm.
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“Everybody wants to be able to build a house that’s going to take less to heat and cool,” said Unity director Mark Hertzler.
Home efficiency has other indirect benefits. The insulation and airtightness aided by heat pumps and air exchangers helps manage the movement of heat, air and moisture, which keeps fresh air circulating and mold growth at bay, according to Hertzler.
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Buntel, a spring allergy sufferer, said his Somerville home’s air exchange has made a noticeable difference in the amount of pollen in the house. And customers have remarked on how quiet their homes are, due to their insulation.
“I’m from New England, so I’ve always lived in drafty, uncomfortable, older houses,” Buntel said. “This is really amazing to me, how consistent it is throughout the year.”
Some panelized home customers are choosing to build not just to reduce their carbon footprint, but because of the looming threat of a warming planet, and the stronger storms it brings.
Burton DeWilde, a Unity homeowner based in Vermont, wanted to build a home that could withstand increasing climate impacts like severe flooding.
“I think of myself as a preemptive climate refugee, which is maybe a loaded term, but I wasn’t willing to wait around for disaster to strike,” he told CNN.
Sustainability is one of Unity’s founding principles, and the company builds houses with the goal of being all-electric.
“We’re trying to eliminate fossil fuels and the need for fossil fuels,” Hertzler said.
Goodson may drill oil by day, but the only fossil fuel he uses at home is diesel to power the house battery if the sun doesn’t shine for days. Goodson estimated he burned just 30 gallons of diesel last winter hundreds of gallons less than Maine homeowners who burn oil to stay warm.
“We have no power bill, no fuel bill, all the things that you would have in an on-grid house,” he said. “We pay for internet, and we pay property taxes, and that’s it.” |
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