Serving Denver, CO and the Surrounding Areas

+1(970) 989-3877

Serving Denver, CO and the Surrounding Areas

+1(970) 989-3877

Residential Architect


Protect Your Family’s Future With Net-Zero Energy & Wild Fire Defense.

The largest remaining and barely tapped energy source left on Earth is the energy we waste.

If you could really net savings by improving your home's efficiency, comfort & safety, would you? In the process, this will also help reverse our climate crises and improve our outlook.

The E.P.A. data shows 22% of all USA's destructive greenhouse gasses (GHG) are from residential heating and cooling. This is because 96% of existing, especially older homes, are under-insulated, causing waste & discomfort for the inhabitants. Here is why. The 10 solutions below will reduce 50% to 80% of heating & cooling costs while adding one-hour wildfire resistance for existing & new code-built homes.

1) Insulate from the outside by attaching insulation to a home's exterior sheathing, brick, or metal walls & roof. Both homes in the photos above also provide an outer continuous R-30 insulating envelope & 1-hour wildfire rating.

2) This envelope also provides an air & water infiltration barrier. Insulate the top of your attic floor deck properly. Then add reflective foil facing up to reflect summer heat away from the insulation & out the attic vents & keeps the rooms below cool in the summer.

The left photo above was a 25-year-old double-wide modular FHA home in Carbondale, CO. After some dormer additions and an exterior envelope; It received a Home Energy Rating Score of 50. Meaning it's 50% more efficient than new code-built homes.

3) If you have crawl space, close off vents, vapor seal its floor & insulate the concrete walls & rim joists a-top the walls. It saves energy & makes the floor above foot warm.

4) Value benefits of exterior envelopes: Envelopes add 3 to 5 inches of super-insulating & one-hour fire resistance to your outer walls & roof, making them durable, substantial & desirable.

5) Homes are correctly measured from the outside. Thicker walls create a 3% more sellable floor area. That value alone pays for half of the installation cost. The savings & looks pay the rest.

6) Great insulation lets you save 50% of the HVAC equipment size & the operating cost of small high-efficiency electric heat pumps. New Federal & state incentives pay 38% towards the first cost for this equipment.

7) Then, you can power your heat pumps with clean energy PV solar on-site or with an offsite PV power supplier.

8) Thermal solar panels heat hot water to provide all domestic hot water needs. Federal & local Rebates combined pay you about 60% of the cost. The efficient equipment energy savings will net you more $$$.

With these relatively cheap & effective improvements, you will reach Net Zero energy & reap 75% to 80% in energy savings per year. If financed, savings can pay it all back in 4 to 8 years, depending on the climate.

9) Why not breathe fresh air 24-7 with a Mechanical Ventilation Heat Recovery system (MVHR)? This saves energy by recovering heat from exhausting warm, stale & humid air. It transfers only the heat to warm up the incoming fresh air. In its summer mode, it cools interior air slowly or faster with a mini chiller if needed.

10) Passive solar from sunlights energy) provides free radiant heating. South-facing overhangs shade out the high summer sun's rays. The lower winter sun will beam under the roof overhangs & inside. Any tiled slab floors will absorb that heat from the sun & room. That heat is released inside nightly when it's appreciated.


Thinking about a beautiful, life-sustaining home or commercial building? I would love to help you. This will also help protect all of our children's futures. Please contact me for answers to your questions in a free 20-minute consultation with me, Darek Shapiro (970) 989-3877

Some Resourceful URLs are for You Below:


Starting with Fire Rated Walls & Roofs, See:
Top 6 Fire-resistant Building Materials

For Fresh Air, See:
How Does an MVHR System Help Stop Summer Overheating?

Heat Pumps, See:
How Much Does a Heat Pump Cost?

To Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions, See:
The Carbon Footprint of Household Energy Use in the United States

See the home in the Gallery I designed & built with passive & active solar design home in El Jebel, CO.