Meet the Greens
Our virtual family, the Greens, represent the type of family we built the Discovery 3 House for. They are modern and practical, and want to live in an environmentally responsible way without sacrificing their standard of living or level of comfort
The Discovery 3 House, Avalon's first entirely net zero house was built to demonstrate the latest in environmentally sustainable and energy efficient technology home building practices and represents the platform for Avalon's future home building program. Measured annually, a net-zero house generates an amount of energy equal to the total amount needed by its occupants. Discovery 3 House, also a certified Built Green house, combines state of the art energy efficient construction techniques and equipment with renewable solar energy to achieve this milestone. Avalon's Discovery 3 House delivers on the key benefits of better homes: resource conservation, energy efficiency, comfort and affordability.
The Discovery 3 House was designed as a place that our virtual family would love to live in with all the conveniences and features modern families expect. We thought about how this house would work through out the whole life cycle of a family’s use; from two people to kids to empty nest, Discovery 3’s design works. Discovery 3 is a three bedroom plus den bungalow with an upper level development. The house features a formal dining room, three bathrooms, a main floor living room and an upper loft family room.
The design of Discovery 3 also contributes to its operation as a system. For the house to operate at peak energy efficient performance Avalon oriented the house for maximum exposure to the south and west to maximize the solar potential. The house was designed with enough south wall area to allow for the solar thermal collectors. The roof pitch and area was designed to accommodate the Photo Voltaic roof panels as well as allow for the developable attic space. Because a basement is a major source of heat loss, it was eliminated in favour of the attic development space which is warmer, better insulated and well suited as living space. Lastly, window sizes and orientation were chosen for a comfortable temperature both winter and summer.
