Exceed industry standards for energy-efficient homes

At Maison Usinex, our constructions are made with a great concern for the environment. This is why we decided to verify the performance of our model homes using various industry recognized tests. In fact, Ms. Pauline Brulant, an energy efficiency consultant at Expertbâtiment, joined us to evaluate the energy-efficient performance of Usinex homes. With a master’s degree from the École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS) in Montréal, she specializes in the study of renewable energy and energy efficiency. Experts like her can make recommendations to improve the energy efficiency of a building before construction begins!

As a result, Innovation climat offers energy benefits Innovation climat représente des avantages énergétiques that have been verified by experts!

The valorization test, the blower door test… outdone!

A valorization test for optimal energy efficiency

First of all, the valorization test is performed on the house plans. This means that the basic configurations and divisions of the building already allow to estimate the potential energy losses. The comparison is made using the National Building Code. Code national du bâtiment.

At Maison Usinex, we always want to improve. So this test is one more step towards optimal ecofriendly factory-built homes!

Once again, the results are significant! Our ecological homes report average energy savings of 20 to 30% per year. Novoclimat, which is the established industry standard for energy savings in new houses, is 20%.

A blower door test to identify unwanted air leaks

Next, what is a blower door test and why is it relevant? This test is now mandatory in several canadian provinces and in the United States. However, this is not yet the case in Québec. In spite of this, Maison Usinex has decided to carry out the test in order to obtain a report on the energy efficiency of its constructions. After all, nothing is as evocative as numbers!

Our priority is to offer an ecological, economical and comfortable factory-built house. This is why the blower door test is a must for our constructions.

A blower door test is used to evaluate the air leakage of a building. According to Ms. Brulant, the process of this test consists of installing a device in a door to seal it and installing a fan to depressurize the house. The energy advisor explains that the pressure drop helps locate air leaks in the building. Specifically, this test measures the rate of air change per hour (ACH) in the home being tested. Since air leaks are the cause of large energy losses in a house, it is very beneficial to identify them in order to seal them!

In the case of Maison Usinex, the blower door test shows a very satisfactory air tightness! In fact, the industry standard recommends a rate of up to 2 ACH, while Maison Usinex obtained an average result of less than 1 ACH.

What about Innovation climat?

In fact, Innovation climat is the result of all the efforts made by Maison Usinex to create energy-efficient homes! The results are largely positive because of the “particularly impressive” results, as Ms. Brulant mentions, especially in terms of airtightness.

One unit of measurement that makes a good case for Innovation climat’s remarkable energy efficiency is Gigajoules per square foot (GJ/ft2). For example, our energy-efficient Broadway home maison écoénergétique Broadway with a heat pump consumes only 0.0243 GJ/ft2. However, if this same Broadway house had been built under the standards found elsewhere on the market, its energy consumption would be 0.329 GJ/ft2. The choice of materials and the level of airtightness explain this significant difference between the two constructions. Now, let’s convert these data into money: the Broadway house, built under the Innovation climat’s standards, allows a saving of 500$ per year in energy consumption compared to any other new construction on the market. Therefore, Maison Usinex is positioned at the top of the industry in terms of energy efficiency thanks to Innovation climat!

*These results are based on Hydro-Québec data données d’Hydro-Québec for the majority of residential customers.

See the infographic below:

Innovation climat is not only about remarkable advantages and increased ecological awareness, but also about tests and numbers that do not lie! Thanks to these data, Maison Usinex is one of the most energy-efficient new constructions on the market.

Want to learn more about ecofriendly houses? Feel free to consult the comparison guide below.