Sustainable design in a home refers to a number of factors. A sustainable house minimizes environmental impact as much as possible. It is energy-efficient and utilizes materials and systems that reduce toxins and conserve resources while maintaining a comfortable physical atmosphere and creating a positive psychological effect on persons who live in the home.
Here are a few sustainable design options that can downsize a home’s environmental footprint, increasing efficiency and reducing operating costs while sustaining comfortable indoor living spaces.
Geothermal
The Earth is a steady source of free latent heat that supports sustainable design, which warms your home without combustion and reducing heating costs up to 70%. In winter, a ground-source, geothermal heat pump absorbs underground heat and concentrates it to warm the house. In the summer, the system functions as a highly efficient air conditioner that disperses heat extracted from the house back into the Earth instead of releasing it into outdoor air.
Hydronic Heating
Heating air isn’t always the most sustainable method for winter comfort control. A hydronic heating system circulates warm water through a tubing grid beneath the floor, releasing energy-efficient heat. Gentle radiant warmth rises upward into living spaces, maintaining comfort without temperature fluctuations and rapid heat loss that is inherent in a forced air furnace system.
Heat Recovery Ventilation (HRV)
Tightly sealed, efficient homes may accumulate indoor pollutants. Heat recovery ventilation is a sustainable design that intakes fresh outdoor air, filters it efficiently, then distributes this fresh, filtered outdoor air through dedicated ductwork. Simultaneously, the system exhausts an equal volume of stale, polluted indoor air. A heat exchanger between intake and exhaust airflows prevents excess heat loss or heat gain, maintaining consistent indoor temperature control during all seasons.
Zoning
Heating and cooling parts of the home that don’t need it is not sustainable design. Zoning technology utilizes ductwork dampers that continuously control HVAC airflow, diverting heating and cooling to specific areas of the house where persons are present, while restricting airflow to unoccupied zones.
Paitson Bros. supports sustainable design in heating and cooling innovation. We’ve been the Wabash Valley’s source for the latest HVAC technology since 1922.
Jeff Paitson is a third generation business owner who continues to run the business with the same values that have been passed down from previous generations since 1922.
Jeff’s belief is that the business belongs to Jesus Christ; therefore 10 percent of the company’s profits go toward the Maryland Community Church.
Jeff is a Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce member and in his spare time, he enjoys 
Ethan Rayburn is a lifelong resident of Terre Haute and a 2005 graduate of Purdue University.
An Eagle Scout, Ethan spent four years as a non-profit executive with the Boy Scouts of America before joining Paitson Bros. as a comfort advisor and later General Manager. In that role, Ethan has brought a renewed enthusiasm for customer care, integrity, value, and service to Paitson Bros. Heating & Air Conditioning.
Ethan enjoys singing and was a member of the Purdue Varsity Glee Club. He also enjoys playing and coaching soccer, spending time with his family and two young boys, and volunteering his time and resources with his church, Terre Haute First Baptist Church, which he has attended from a very young age.
Paitson Bros
1 (812) 232-2347
Serving the Wabash Valley, IN Area Since 1922