Posts Tagged ‘RenoGreen tips’

Accu-Temp Heating & Cooling; a Snapshot of our HVAC Specialist

Wednesday, November 24th, 2010

Pinnacle Group takes great care in constructing the most comfortable, yet eco-friendly homes possible, which is why we partner with Calgary’s premier Trades and Suppliers, such as Accu-Temp Heating & Cooling Ltd.

Accu-Temp, owned & operated by Nate Burlando, is an HVAC and Air Conditioning specialist, installing all furnaces, ductwork and air conditioning for Pinnacle projects. Continually on the search for improved technologies and products, Accu-Temp installs only the best in their industry. From ultra-high efficient furnaces & humidifiers, to a software program designed to perfectly calculate the ducting required for each individual home, every detail is covered.

Accu-Temp supplies and installs the ultra-high efficient York furnace in many Pinnacle projects; these furnaces are rated as 98% efficient, and are equipped with DC volt variable speed blower motors, which reduce electrical consumption by up to 80%! A high-efficiency furnace provides your home with ideal heating comfort while using less energy than other models. Along with each furnace, Accu-Temp installs user-friendly programmable thermostats which allow the temperature of the home to be set to various levels throughout the day, reducing the need for the furnace to run continuously and heat during the warm parts of the afternoon, or when no one is home. Water saving humidifiers are also installed for Pinnacle’s client family’s; the Honeywell by-pass flow-through high efficiency humidifier uses 35-50% less water than the typical drip style humidifier.

One of the most innovative items utilized by Accu-Temp is a software program that perfectly calculates the necessary heating & cooling requirements for each individual project. The architectural blueprints are loaded into the program, along with the R value of insulation in the walls & attic, the type of windows being installed, and the direction house is facing. The program knows the average daily temperature where the house is located; and based on this and all information entered, calculates the entire heating/cooling requirements; both the size of ductwork required & how many vents are needed for each room. In this way, the heat load & loss are perfectly calculated so the furnace, air conditioning & duct work can be properly sized to fit the house.

From a workmanship perspective; one glance at Accu-Temp’s furnace room says it all! Where many times the furnace room details are forgotten….Accu-Temp truly shows their pride of workmanship. From vertical flues and piping that is installed using a builder’s level, to wiring perfectly strung and attached to control modules, to carefully placed and fastened condensate drain lines…we sometimes think that Nate and his staff learned their trade at Kennedy Space Centre! Suffice it say; when Accu-Temp steps away from a newly installed furnace system, your furnace room may just be a room you bring your friends to…. and admire the masterful workmanship!

Additional to supplying and installing top-of the line products, Accu-Temp also helps Pinnacle’s customer’s quality for the Alberta Energy Rebate program; Pinnacle clients may receive as much as $500.00 back from the government for each of their new furnace purchases.

With so many benefits and attention to the smallest detail, Pinnacle is proud to endorse Accu-Temp as one of our premiere Trade partnerships! www.accu-temp.ca

Did you know that renovating in and of itself is a green initiative?

Wednesday, September 1st, 2010

The concept of renovating being a green initiative manifests itself on many levels when it comes to Pinnacle Group Renovations’ process.

Green Earth Recycling

We all know that we live in a highly consumable society with a disposable mindset, though many of us are working to change this. Making the decision to renovate one’s house vs. selling and buying new, in essence captures this consciousness of becoming a less expendable society, similar to teaching our family’s how to use our infamous Blue Recycling containers now a common sight in Calgary! Embracing the concept of working with what you already have really does have many green pay offs at the end of the day!

Consider this – when our renovation families first meet our talented design team, our architectural designer helps maximize the strengths of the existing floor plan, while finding innovative ways to create spaces that appropriately meet the renovation needs of the family. Not every home renovation needs to be a ‘gutted to the studs’ project – we are committed to providing the best possible, environmentally conscious design to get the end result you need. Even in the instance that it is a complete home renovation from the ground up, there are many elements of the existing house that can be refurbished or reused. For example, a renovation project we just completed saw salvaged slate from the exterior of the home painstakingly reclaimed and re-installed on the newly renovated exterior; in addition quartz brick from a former fireplace was re-cut and used to frame the new spectacular main floor aquarium. Similarly, bricks from the old fireplace were reused when designing the cozy new master bedroom fireplace area. Amalgamating the old and the new is not only a green concept, but for some homeowners, this emotional connection to the past plays an integral part of creating meaningful design choices and peace of mind.

Renovating your home also provides the opportunity to update and change the not-so-environmentally-friendly building products of the past. From environmentally friendly paint products to energy efficient appliances, there is always room for improvement. We can dramatically reduce the carbon foot print of a home with eco- conscious choices like the installation of a new furnace, hot water tank and window systems. Thickening exterior walls, reinsulating ceilings and using products such as open-cell spray foam to provide increased insulation to outside wall cavities, all improve the insulation value of a home. It is not uncommon for us to reduce a home’s carbon foot print by 40% or more with these types of changes!


Pinnacle Group Renovations is committed to recycling as much renovation debris as possible from our sites. Working with our trade partner Clean Earth Recycling (www.recyclingcalgary.com), specialists in recycling construction material, it is possible for us to recycle as much as 65% of construction and demolition waste material from our renovation sites – now that is impressive! We had a unique experience recently when we presented one of our clients with potting soil to be used in their new temperature controlled solarium that was in fact compost from the recycling debris removed from their job site!

We are committed to incorporating green initiatives into our renovation process and encourage you to inquire about ways in which we can help you reduce your carbon foot print when renovating. For more information on Pinnacle’s carbon reduction initiatives we invite your inquiries!

Reno Green Renovation Tips

Saturday, June 5th, 2010

Did you know a single re-roof using an enviro-friendly roofing product could save 800 tires from ending up in the landfill?

There are many exciting eco-conscious solutions available when selecting roofing products. These range from solar roofing tiles which we touched on in our May Reno Green Tip, to a product called EUROSHIELD™ which contains a minimum of 75% recycled materials, the majority of which is crumb rubber from tires!

>> View the Video for this RenoGreen Tip!

After many years of research and development, EUROSHIELD™ Roofing Products were created with the goal of recycling the tremendous amount of used tires destined for the landfill. The result was one of the world’s finest synthetic roofing products available on the market today.  The production of a EUROSHIELD™ roof on an average sized home uses anywhere from 600-1000 rubber tires! This product is affordable, maintenance free and increases the value of your home. It is attractive, lightweight yet durable, and is fast and easy to install. EUROSHIELD™ manufactures three types of eco-friendly roofing systems – EuroSlate™, EuroTile™ and EuroShake™. As well, any scrap material generated through the installation process can be collected and recycled again – virtually eliminating environmentally harmful waste!

In addition to this product, Iko is a manufacturer/supplier of an environmentally friendly roofing alternative made from 30% recycled material. Iko is the only asphalt manufacturer recognized by BuiltGreen™.

You can further reduce your carbon footprint by contacting a roofing installation company that recycles your old roofing product. Asphalt shingles can be recycled for roads and cedar shakes can be recycled for mulch. From start to finish your roofing project can be a complete green initiative!

For more information on these products and other environmentally friendly roofing initiatives, contact a reputable authorized installer.