Posts Tagged ‘passive solar’

Kadtec: Who We Are

Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010

KADTEC is a company of skilled architectural drafters and civil engineers. We can handle all aspects of civil and structural engineering, from drafting services using the latest in architectural drawing software to structural and civil calculations. If you need one home designed or an entire subdivision, we have the staff and expertise to handle it.

Our company is dedicated to give our clients the very best in residential home blueprints for any client – from the individual to a large commercial developer. Our people know mountain terrain and can handle split level homes, adverse drainage situation, and poor soil conditions. If you’re a person looking to design your own home, we’re the people for you. We can walk you through the entire process, from picking the right spot on your property for your home, to selecting the style that’s right for you, and then coming up with the home blueprints. Don’t worry about the building permit process and the myriad of paperwork needed to build your dream home; that’s what we’re here for, and we’ll handle all of it.

While we don’t have landscapers in-house, we know the right sorts of people to help you realize that perfect garden you’ve always dreamed of. If you’re going to build a coastal home design, and want plants tough enough to resist wind, sand and salt air, we know the landscapers to help you. On the other hand, if you’re going to build a mountain luxury home, and don’t want your prize flowers dying in the first winter freeze, our landscape consultants know what to plant in your garden.

When it comes to home styles, you pick one out, and we’ll design your dream home plans around it. How about looking at some cottage home designs? Or, do you want an eco-friendly house that has German architecture, but is a full solar home design? Here again, our people know how to handle that sort of design. We use the latest computer software to generate architectural 3D renderings so you can see your dream home design before the plans are ever printed. Want to go over some home office design ideas or consider a home theater room design? We can add one wherever you want.

If you’re worried that you need an architect to handle your dream house plans, don’t. We can create everything from contemporary home designs to a Tuscan home design or maybe that mountain home plan you’ve always dreamed of. So, check out some of the services our firm has to offer; you’ll be glad you did. No matter what interior house design you have in mind; our firm can help you turn your dreams into reality, and give you that home you’ve been dreaming of.

Green Home Plans

Saturday, February 27th, 2010

Many people like the idea of creating green home plans. They look around and see Global Warming getting worse, pollution on the rise, and natural resources being depleted. So, if you want a great house, yet one that is eco-friendly, KADTEC can help you create green home plans you can be proud of.

Yet, some people worry that “going green” – as they say – is going to entail a high cost to their dream home plans. That does not have to be the case at all. These days, you can create just about any type of green home building you want. Here again, some people feel that to be truly green, you have to go with log cabin home designs. But, there are alternative building materials that will allow you to create any style of home you want, and still make them green home plans.

So, what sort of home do you want? Whether it be a Victorian home design, a modern home design, and even ranch house plans can be turned into green home plans. The key is using the right green technology, having a green architect, and making use of the green appliances and green products available in the marketplace. I know, that’s a lot of green! And you want to make sure that you don’t waste a lot of your own green – your money – in carrying out your dream home plans. This is where affordable green homes are important, and where having an engineer who’s an expert can help you. A high efficiency washer and dryer might be slightly more expensive now, but over their lifetime, they’ll save you money, and be less of an impact on the environment.

It’s said that Civil Engineers are unique in that they pay attention to the bottom line, to the cost of something. When creating your green home plans, this is an important point. Sometimes, architects – even green ones, can get carried away, and it’s up to the engineer to essentially rein them in. Green technology doesn’t have to be expensive; it can be as simple as using passive solar home designs. The right sort of green technology can put efficient insulation in your walls and roof, a solar-powered hot water heater in your house, and maybe even a wind or solar electrical system to provide some or all of your home needs. If the cost of such measures is outside your means, there are still green products that are affordable. By making use of recycled building materials, you can save money, and help the environment.

If you’re familiar with the lingo of the environmental movement, then you know that a person’s carbon footprint is how they contribute to the amount of greenhouse gases are dumped into the atmosphere. Reducing that footprint is the aim of green home plans. By utilizing all that technology has to offer, and hiring an engineering firm skilled in implementing green technology, you can have the most energy efficient home design possible. At KADTEC, we’re experts at doing just that.

Solar Home Design

Tuesday, January 26th, 2010

There was a time when people pooh-poohed solar home design as the stuff of science fiction. Today, we see Global Warming, pollution, rising energy costs and depletion of our natural resources, and realize that solar powered house designs are no longer fiction. And, you don’t have to spend an arm and a leg to do it either. We can walk you through the process of passive solar home design, and use technology that won’t bust your budget.

There are several key factors to consider in solar home design, especially when going the passive route. Where are you planning to build? What are the wind patterns in your area like, and what’s the terrain? In passive solar house designs you generally use windows and what’s known as thermal mass to help heat and cool your home. By having small windows on the summer side of your home, and large on the winter, you can help keep your dream home comfortable. Thermal mass refers to things like the masonry used in your walls and/or fireplace chimney. In this type of solar home design, the stones absorb heat during the day, and give it off at night; thus your home stays about the same temperature at all times. Here again, positioning your home and the stonework depending on your location is important.

The virtues of passive solar house designs are that they’re simple, require little maintenance, and have few moving parts. In initial costs can also be minimal as only a change in building material is needed. Now, stepping up to a full solar-powered home can entail a lot more work and investment. Yet, some people see it as important to reducing their carbon footprint. Also, if you’re building a rustic mountain home, you may be miles from the nearest utility, and running power out to you can be problematic, at best.

If you want to go fairly low-tech, you can install a solar powered hot water heater. That simple feature can reduce your electric bill quite a bit. If you have a pool, and want it heated as well, there are solar powered pool heaters. Depending on where you, if you have good sun exposure, a full solar home design may work for you. By installing photovoltaic (PV) solar-power panels on your roof, they will convert sunlight directly into electricity. During the optimal times of year, you can completely power your home this way.

In fact, some electric companies will buy the excess electricity that your solar house design generates! Just think, the dials on your electric meter running backwards. Or, you could say: running the right way. Not only can you be proud of having a completely solar powered home, but you’ll actually be helping your community. For some people, that’s a source of great pride.

No matter what kinds of solar home designs you want to use, we can help you work them into any style of home you want. And, if you’re unfamiliar with all the solar-powered technology that’s out there, we can help you pick out the best systems for your dream home.

Green Roofing Products

Thursday, October 29th, 2009

When looking to build a new home, green roofing products, and other materials can yield a great dream home design. And, don’t worry that using green appliances are going to bust your budget. These days, you have a plethora of products to choose from, and many are very reasonably priced. In some cases, the government even gives you a tax break for using green roofing products and other similar materials in your house design plans.

Also, you don’t have to worry that you can only use green roofing products and the other building materials on some mountain-man looking cabin. No, you can create a modern house design in any style you want. If you love minimalist architecture or want a truly unique house design, we can help you do that. Do you want some really contemporary home designs, or maybe a rustic mountain home plan? We can help you create them. Green roofing products can be used on all of these styles of homes; and we can help you do so much more.

In terms of eco-friendly products and green appliances, there plenty to choose from. A hybrid vehicle is a good start, and then maybe a garden composter to help you fertilize your garden and landscape areas naturally. The less chemicals you dump into the environment, the better. You also don’t have to spend a fortune as you strive to help save the planet. Something as simple as a passive solar home design can incorporate thermal window panes, orienting windows to maximize winter exposure and minimize it during summer can be very helpful.

It’s important that you find a green architect who understands such things. While we don’t currently have an architect in-house, we work with plenty who know how to properly design a green home. they will design a home in whatever style you like, and make use of green roofing products and other alternative house designs to make your home as green as possible. Yet, we can also keep an eye on the bottom line. You want to do your part to help with Global Warming, pollution, and the depletion of natural resources, but you also want an affordable green home.

If you feel that a passive solar system isn’t enough, and want to explore different types of alternative energy, we can help with that as well. There are solar home designs available, and we can work with you and your architect to make your home as energy independent as possible. Using green roofing products and other green building materials can be just the first steps in creating a truly green home. Depending on where you live, wind and solar power can augment or even replace making use of power from your local utility. By trying to build a green home, you can do your part to protect our fragile ecosystem, and KADTEC can help you do it.

Energy Efficient House Plans

Friday, October 16th, 2009

There’s no denying that we live in “interesting” times, shall we say? Making sure that you have energy efficient house plans is of critical importance these days. Gas prices vary widely, and sometimes getting enough home heating oil is tough, especially if you live in a remote location. This is where energy efficient home designs are vital.

There’s a lot of debate as to the causes of Global Warming, but no one can deny that the world is warming up, and greenhouse gases are the driving force behind it. So, if you want to reduce your carbon footprint, energy efficient house plans are the way to do it. Maximizing your insulation, putting good shingles on the roof, and installing high efficiency appliances can be the key to achieving all of this. Many times, the construction methods used by the builder can be critical. It’s important that, when building a green home, it gets built right. Here’s one example: some builders will cut a notch out of the wall insulations when installing an electrical outlet. Each of those notches is a tiny hole in your insulations. If they do that for every outlet, it can add up to the equivalent of an open window in lost energy! Do you want to leave a window open all winter and all summer? What affect is that going to have on your energy efficient home design? Not only is your money essentially billowing out the window, but you’re pumping still more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. This is where KADTEC can help you by insuring that the energy efficient house designs outlined in your home blueprints are carried out properly.

Today, there are a variety of energy efficient house designs you can choose from when laying out your dream home plans. It doesn’t matter what architectural style you want: a Victorian home design, some cottage home designs, and even something as different as German architecture. All of these types of homes can benefit from eco-friendly products. Building a green home doesn’t mean having to sacrifice anything, if your engineer knows about all of the green architect resources available.

Energy efficient house plans can incorporate something as simple as passive solar home designs – the windows oriented to get plenty of the winter sun, and little of the hot summer sun. Then there are full solar home designs you can look into that will give you maximum energy efficient house plans. There are solar hot water heaters, and solar panels to go on your roof to supplement your electrical system. Depending on where you live, your energy efficient house plans could include a windmill. Placed in the right location, one of those can generate a lot of electricity. You can also check with your local utility, and see if they have a buy-back program with people who generate their own power. Some municipalities require their electric companies to buy power people generate themselves. As a result, if your energy efficient house plans prove very efficient, you may end up selling your excess power!

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