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Signature Homes launch new eco-friendly show home in Tauranga
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Eco Credentials® Kowhai is a contemporary, environmentally-friendly, architecturally-designed three bedroom home, built with ecologically responsible materials and techniques to create a living environment totally in tune with the modern family... and the planet.
Multiple entries, indoor-outdoor transition spaces and an abundance of natural light set the Kowhai apart. Exterior styling expresses an affinity with the natural surroundings, with an individuality that is as aesthetic as it is intensely practical.
Come and see this show home at 113 Lakes Boulevard, The Lakes, Tauranga or phone Signature Homes Tauranga on 07 578 1000
Open:
10am - 4pm | Tues - Fri
1pm - 4pm | Sat, Sun & Mon
Eco Credentials® delivers the balance of pleasurable living with the assurance of environmental responsibility, all in a package that is quite pleasantly affordable. As with all other Signature Homes, it is covered by our eight, industry-leading home guarantees.
Eco Credentials® by Signature Homes - the new home you've been waiting for
With evidence of the effects of human activity on our planet increasingly accepted by the scientific community and the public at large, it's timely to present the measures Signature Homes Tauranga take in offsetting those effects.
A holistic approach to environmental responsibility
Our Eco Credentials® programme employs carefully researched and implemented materials and techniques to achieve the right balance between environmental responsibility and practicality.
Developed in co-operation with Righthouse, the result has been to reduce energy consumption during the home's construction as well as its ongoing use. This showhome is a measure of our achievement in delivering a better living environment for home owners and our planet.
Eco Credentials® Kowhai construction initiatives
Kowhai uses renewable pine timber as retaining material for section levelling. Locally grown pine forestries reduce carbon as timber stores, rather than releases, carbon. All excavated material is used on site, reducing the need to bring new fill, or to truck it away, delivering savings in fuel and associated carbon emmissions.
We plan construction to ensure as far as possible that the delivery of materials avoids duplication of trips and wastage of manpower and time, all of which can negatively impact the carbon footprint of the home.
Signature Homes consistently exceeds approved building requirements where there is potential for energy savings. Aluminium joinery, for example, is double glazed to practically eliminate heat transfer between indoors and outdoors, so less energy is needed to warm the home in winter and to cool it in summer. We even insulate the concrete slab on which the house is built, reducing heat loss and thus ongoing energy use.
The design also has innovative features such as high level internal doors which offer better airflow from room to room for a more uniformly warm or cool environment for the home's occupants. Decking and fencing take advantage of timber's carbon storage, and being renewable and locally grown they benefit New Zealand and of course our planet.
Respect for our environment is apparent in all we do
Water is arguably the most valuable resource that planet Earth possesses so water conservation features strongly in a dwelling boasting a high degree of ecological responsibility.
Intelligently designed and engineered mixer and shower fittings use 40% less water than others, smart flush cisterns save 25% over traditional dual flush models, and rainwater is captured and stored for use in cistern flushing. Wastewater from the showers and laundry is used in driplines to irrigate the lawn and garden. Hot water is primarily delivered by solar heating, a major saving in energy use compared with electric or gas heated water.
Living the promise
The greatest energy savings potential is in heating the home in winter and here the Eco Credentials® programme offers huge benefits. Underfloor heating uses solar heated water to warm and maintain comfortable interior temperatures day and night. And there's a highly efficient, cost effective heat pump back up. Heated towel rails use timers to provide the greatest benefit with the least energy consumption. Tiles used in kitchen, family and dining areas, absorb heat during the day and release it back into the home at night.
Also, wall and ceiling insulation exceed building standards by a wide margin, giving much reduced heat loss and lower energy consumption and the Pink Batts insulation used in Matai has the added advantage of being made from 75% recycled glass.
While the home-owner's own habits have a significant bearing on energy consumption, Signature Homes has put together an innovative package of features to keep energy expenditure, and also usage costs, to a minimum.
For example, we use one of the most energy efficient gas fires available and cooking is also done with gas, recognised as the most efficient method available. Even the electrical appliances are low energy use models, including fluorescent, halogen and LED light fittings.
Eco Credentials® is not just about energy use.
Long before ecological awareness became mainstream, Signature Homes chose to offer the most environmentally responsible materials available to us. For instance, the benchtop our Eco Credentials® programme demands, is made from quartz; natural, beautiful and incredibly hard-wearing. The carpets we specify are New Zealand made and of course, 100% NZ wool.
The sealants and adhesives we use in construction and finishing are chosen for their environmental soundness as much as for their effectiveness, and where possible, we avoid solvent-based products. The paint we specify for internal finishing is Wattyl's Eco Proof for the best possible performance without compromising our Eco Credentials®.
It's a source of some pride that we are consistently at the forefront of environmentally responsible initiatives but we're committed to constantly improving our Eco Credentials® programme with the adoption of new products and techniques that help reduce the carbon footprint of the homes we build.
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