GreenBuildingandSustainableStrategiesMagazinecatchesupwiththe

PresidentandCEOofAmbassadorFineCustomHomes
WhenMichalJ.CernyisdesigningforAmbassadorFineCustomHomes,hespendsaconsiderableamountoftime
ensuringthatenergyefficienciesgetthesameconsiderationassophisticatedinteriorfinishesandeyepleasing
exteriorfinishes.

Youhavewonmanyawardsforyourbuilds,includingBestCustomHomeinCanadaabove4000sfSAM
AwardbytheCanadianHomeBuildersAssociationandBestCustomHomeinGTAAwardbytheToronto

HomeBuildersAssociation.Whatkindofenergyefficienciesandgreenbuildstandardsdoyouincorporate
intoyourdesigns?

Wedesignabout65percentofthehomeswebuild.Naturally,partofthatprocessisconstantcommunicationwith
theclientandconsultingwiththemastowhattheirenergyefficiencyneedsandgoalsare.Forthebetterpartofthe
past10years,wehavehadmostofourclientsagreetotheextraexpenseofusing2lbBASFclosedcellsprayfoam
insulationthroughoutthehouse.WealwaysinstallHRVs(HeatRecoveryVentilators),HepaandMediafilters,High
EfficiencyFurnaces,lowflushoptiontoilets,energyratedbathroomfans,LEDlightbulbsinourpotlightfixtures,
greywaterrecoverysystems,waterproofingourfoundationwallsusingRubberRWall,infloorheating,andwe
encouragetheclienttopurchaseenergyefficientappliances.

Expandmoreonyouruseof2lbBASFclosedcellsprayfoaminsulationinsomanyofyourhomes.

Wetypicallyfillwallcavitieswithabout5.5inchesgivingafinalinsulationfactorofaboutR33oncetherefrigerantgas
hasescapedfromwithinthecells.Imaginewhatadifferencethismadewhenbeforetherevised2012Ontario
BuildingCode,wallinsulationratingsintheGTAwereR20.Evenwiththenew2012OBCincreasedratingsbetween
R24andR27pendinguponefficiencyofwindowsandfurnace,wearestilldeliveringabetterfinishedproducttothe
client.

Mostpeopledontrealizehow2lbsprayfoaminsulationactuallyhardenstothepointthatitbecomespartofthe
buildingenvelopeinmorethanpurelyitsinsulationintendeduse.Itcanprovidestructuralenhancementtothehouse
andassistsinkeepingstudsinthesameinstalledconditionascomparedtobeingaffectedbyhumidityand
temperatureswingsinthehome.Wetookavideoofoneofourguystryingtohammeroutthissprayfoamand
homeownersareindisbeliefastotheinherentstrengthofthisproduct.


Explainwhyyouthinkmorehomesshouldbeinstallinggreywaterrecoverysystems.

Thisisasubjectthatisaspecialtyontoitself.Ibelievethisisoneofthemostunderutilizedenergyefficiency
opportunities.AtAmbassadorwearestrivingtoimplementthisintoallournewhomebuilds,effective2016.

Inverybroadstrokes,devicescaptureheatfromresidentialgreywater,throughaprocessoftencalledgreywaterheat
recovery.Incomingcoldwaterfromthecty,ratherthanflowingdirectlyintoawaterheatingdevice,flowsfirstthrough
aheatexchangerwhereitisprewarmedbyheatfromgreywaterflowingoutfromsuchactivitiesasdishwashing,or
showering.Typicalhouseholddevicesreceivinggreywaterfromashowercanrecoverupto60%oftheheatthat
wouldotherwisegotowaste.

Ontopofthatfeature,thegreywatergeneratedfromshowers,bathsandsinksentersthegreywatersystemand
passesovertheRecoverspatentpendingfiltersystemremovingfineparticlesfromthewaterbeforeitentersa
holdingtank.Oncetheshowerorbathisfinished,thesystemautomaticallybeginsthechlorinationcyclefollowedby
cleaningofthefilter.Thewaterfromtheholdingtankfillsyourtoilettanksandforirrigationofyourlawn.

Asgreywatercontainsfewer
pathogens
thandomesticwastewater,itisgenerallysafertohandleandeasiertotreat
andreuseonsitefor
toiletflushing
,landscapeorcrop
irrigation
,andothernonpotableuses.Aslongasyourclients
arewillingtousenontoxicandlowsodiumsoap,youcanaddclotheswashingmachinesanddishwasherstothe
systems.
Energysavingspluswaterconservationequalmoneysaved.Winwinfortheclientandtheenvironment.

WhataboutthepriceofLEDlightbulbs?Donttheyincreasethecostofyourclientsbuild?

Whenwebuildahome,weareasequallyconcernedaboutthelifetimecostofthebuildaswearewiththeactual
immediatecostofthebuild.Meaning,areweusingmaterialsthatwillsavetheclientmoneyinthelongrunbyusing
materialsthataremaintenancefriendly.Asimpleexampleisweencouragetheclienttousestone,brickor
limestone,asopposedtostucco,thatwillfadeorcrackovertimeandrequiremaintenance,whichwillcosttheclient
moremoneyovertime.

GoingbacktotheLEDexample,theelectricityusedoverthelifetimeofasingleincandescentbulbcostsfiveto10
timestheoriginalpurchasepriceofthebulbitself.Whatdoesthisreallymeanintermsofcosttotheclient?AnLED
bulbwilllastsome50,000hoursversus1,200hoursthatatypicalincandescentlightbulbwill.Yesitcostsabout$36
vs$1.25,buthereisthesavingsyourenergycostover50,000hoursofusageLEDwillcostyouabout$86vs
incandescent$352.Nowuseamultipleofsome150potlightsinatypicallysizedhomewebuild.Thatsasavings
ofsome$52,000.

Youarewellknownforhavingyourawardwinninghomesbuiltwithinfloorheating.Canyouexpandon
that?

ThebestwaythatIcansummarizethisisbythefeedbackwegetfromourclients.Februaryofthisyearwasthe
coldestFebruaryinourhistory.Wegotfeedbackthatourclientsfurnacesworkedafewdaysperweekduringthat
month,whiletherestofthewintertheyturnedonahandfuloftimes.
Itsthermalcomfort.
Homesequippedwithradiantheatsystemshaveinteriorenvironmentsthatarehighly
favorabletohumanthermalcomfort.Unlikemanysystemsthatdirectlyheattheair,radiantfloorheatinggently
warmsthesurfacesofobjectsintheroomaswellastheairitself.Thewarmsurfacessignificantlyreducetherateof
heatlossfromtheoccupants,allowingmosttofeelcomfortableatroomtemperatures1.5to2.5degreesCelsius
lowerthanwithothermethodsofheating.

Thesystemoperatesquieter,cleanerandreducesfuelusage:
Radiantheatsystemshaveaprovenrecordof
reducedenergyusagerelativetootherformsofheating,withsavingsresultingfromseveralfactorssuchastheability
tosustaincomfortatlowerindoorairtemperatures,reducedairtemperaturestratification,nonpressurizationof
rooms(whichleadstohigherratesofairleakage),andtheabilitytooperatewithlowerwatertemperatures.Naturally
savingswillvaryfromhometohome,butindustrialstatisticsshowestimatesinthe20%to50%savingsrange,
pendingoninsulation,efficiencyofwindowandfurnace,qualityofsysteminstalled,geographicalarealivedin.

Ontopofthis,mostsystemsareinstalledsothatyourdomestichotwaterisheatedusingthesameboiler.Depending
uponfloorcoverage,heatlosscalculations,spacingofradianttubing,averagetemperatureandflow,asecondboiler
willberequiredtoaccommodatebothinfloorheatinganddomestichotwaterheating(inpasthomesaroundthe
6000sfrangestarttofallintothisconsideration).Theclientsavesonenergycostsanditsnearlyimpossibletorun
outofhotwaternomorefamilyargumentsoverwhousedupthehotwater.