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Going green is good economics! For your home, wallet and the earth. Homeowners are consistently asking about energy-efficient homes in creating a safe, healthy and sustainable environment for their family. As a custom homebuilder, RS HOMES is continually implementing green technology to stay in the forefront of best building practices. Here are several tips to consider when creating your energy-efficient home!

Building a custom home can be an exciting and rewarding experience. At the same time, it is an complex and lengthy undertaking that can challenge even the most seasoned professionals. Here are four things you must do to prepare yourself for the journey:

1. Find a Builder You Can Trust:

The single most important criteria when selecting a builder is TRUST. But how do you know whether a builder is trustworthy? The answer is different for everyone: for some people it’s about reliability – knowing the builder will show up on time, do the job right, and finish on time and on budget. For others, it’s about transparency – knowing what’s happening when, what materials are being used, or how much money is being spent in each area.

RS Homes recently completed this 5000 square foot detached home on Edgevalley Drive in Etobicoke. We’re very proud of the design and craftsmanship that made the project possible. The exterior showcases a regal Indiana Limestone cladding, complete with precast concrete details, cedar shake shingles, and copper eaves, downspouts and awnings. The interior is finished with exquisite natural marble and hardwood flooring, high coffered ceilings (11-12 feet on the main floor!), and custom cabinetry throughout.

This month, RS Homes has proudly registered with EnerQuality as a prospective builder of ENERGY STAR® Qualified Homes. This means that, going forward, we will be offering our clients opportunities to reduce their operating costs and their environmental impact – through tighter building envelopes, efficient mechanical system design and reduced electricity consumption. Interested in building an ENERGY STAR® Qualified Home? Contact RS Homes today for a free consultation.

Providing homes with potable water (water suitable for drinking) requires significant infrastructure, energy and financial resources. As with energy consumption, water use can be curbed in part by installing efficient devices such as low flow fixtures, aerators and dual flush toilets.

That said, the complexity of water systems presents a key challenge to reducing consumption. For example, although we do not need to flush our toilets or water our lawns with potable water, conventional plumbing systems do just this. Truly innovative water systems will promote water conservation not only with efficient fixtures, but also by capturing and using rainwater and/or ‘greywater’ (water that has already been used in other processes such as dishwashing and laundry) for non-potable applications.