Out of the ashes of the Ventura County, Calif., fires, new life comes from Dvele, the modern prefab smart home producer. Dvele employs a holistic building science practice that considers physics, biology and chemistry to ensure that its homes exceed third-party certifications for quality, health, and efficiency. The homes Dvele produces with its modular platform can be completed within six months, dramatically improving the timeframe from permitting to occupancy permit. This time savings helps reduce soft costs associated with construction, and easily improves one of the biggest barriers to new home ownership, time.
“Dvele is re-imagining the home buying and living experience, creating healthy and efficient homes that positively impact the lives of our clients,” according to Chief Innovation Officer, Brandon Weiss.
Design standards
Dvele marries high design with both home performance and human performance, creating a one of a time type home. Dvele has high-end finishes using modern materials that are safer, cleaner, and sustainably produced. The houses are also built to Passive House standards. It is a conservation first approach to the building envelope, ensuring buildings are also long-lasting and resilient.
Customers have the option to have an integrated intelligent home package. The voice-controlled system acknowledges the time the homeowner wants to go to bed then the lights start to dim slowly, all exterior doors lock, security measures activate, outside air circulation engages, the temperature adjusts to aid sleep, the lunar power-saving mode turns on, sleep-inducing sounds fill the bedroom and the shades close. In the morning the shades gently open. It’s a dream home.
Getting off-grid in style
Key to the San Diego-based builder’s strategy now is Sunflare solar panels, which they seamlessly integrate into their rooftops. The system shown, generates over 13,500 kWh, and can cover 100% of the electricity used in the household.
Dvele and Sunflare are both companies looking to improve the way buildings produce and use energy, which created a natural alignment on the Skyview project in Ventura as well as future upcoming projects in Santa Rosa and more in Ventura.
Sunflare solar modules are light, thin, flexible, and durable. Sunflare’s Flex60 lightweight modules have a Global Warming Potential footprint only 1/10 of silicon and a lower climate contribution than both on-shore and off-shore wind. Global warming potential is measured by the increase in emission of gases, which in turn, increase the earth’s temperature overtime. And Sunflare’s extremely thin light-absorbing CIGS layer uses less than 1 mm of materials in its production process. Over ninety-five percent of the solar modules in the world today are made from glass-covered, aluminum-framed silicon, which requires temperature of 1800 degrees Celsius to manufacture.
Sunflare modules are just 10% of the weight of silicon when installed. Flexible Sun2 cells are encapsulated between durable polymer sheets. And the modules are easy to install by just peeling the backing paper from the panel and sticking it down. These panels do not require racking, or ballasts. In addition, a bypass diode at every cell enhances energy production–even in shade.
“We are excited to partner with Dvele. They reflect everything we believe in, particularly in simplifying smart and environmentally conscious homes. They are changing the modular housing market and we are shifting the energy landscape,” said Philip Gao, CEO of Sunflare.
— Solar Builder magazine
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