Ground Up Builders

Our Company:

Ground Up Builders is a general building construction company that does business in Fresno and in Central San Joaquin Valley. We build homes from the ground up, providing services from planning, design, construction and maintenance of the building. Ground Up Builders Inc, also known as Ground Up Builders has been established in January 2006 as a Sole Proprietorship and in April 2007 as a corporation. The company is licensed in the State of California to engage in contracting business as a General Contractor, Electrical Contractor, HVAC Contractor, Plumbing Contractor and as an Acoustic & Insulation Contractor, under the license number 870569.

Our Services:

In this era where people are very much concerned of global warming, green house gas emissions and the preservation of nature’s wealth, the building industry is trying to come up with lots of new ideas and technology to pacify these concerns. We see it in the TV news of these big home builders putting up solar system in their new houses which is good but really haven’t solved the underlying problems in the building construction. Ground Up Builders will have a sound and holistic approach to these problems. Our company will utilize the most efficient and proven system in the home building industry, harnessing the earth’s free energy to create energy efficient and ultimately, zero energy consuming house, yet affordable to the general population in the valley.

First, we’ll work with our clients during the planning process to come up with the best scenario as far as the building orientation is concerned, making sure they’ll get most of the sun if they choose to utilize solar system and minimize heat gains or losses on the building fenestration. If the customer chooses to utilize Geothermal Heat Pump for heating, cooling or producing hot water, we’ll work with them to design the lot to where the geothermal loop pipes that will be buried underground won’t be in the way of their future projects.

Second, our clients have the option to use radiant heating for their home. If done right, radiant heating utilizes lesser energy to heat the same space compared to a conventional furnace-blower heating system. The system allows even heating throughout the whole floor, not just in localized spots as with wood stoves, hot air systems, and other types of radiators. The room heats from the bottom up, warming the feet and body first that most people are comfortable even if the thermostat is set lower than 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

Third, we seal and insulate our building very well. Our goal is to attain a building envelop not to exceed 5 ACH50 (air changes) on a blower door depressurization machine test which most homes that had been built are in the 5 to 10 ACH50 range. This test gages how well can outside air gets into the building and vice versa. We employ a combination of different types of material to seal cracks, gaps, penetrations, cavities and any openings into the building and install not less than the minimum prescriptive insulation R-value for the structure. We make carpentry and framing accommodate our system, keep the structure very much sound and tight while maintaining the integrity of the building envelop.

Fourth, after getting together with the client and learn all their options for windows, doors, wall, floor, ceiling, roof construction and ducting system, we will size the heating and cooling unit properly so that it will run at its best efficiency. When utilizing geothermal heat pump as the means of heating or cooling, an option for producing free hot water could also be employed.

Geothermal heat pump:
Geothermal heat pumps are the most energy efficient cooling and heating equipment in the market for residential applications. We are an authorized installer for ground source heat pumps manufactured by Water Furnace International. They are the leading manufacturer of ground source heat pumps based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. By far Water Furnace International produced the highest EER and COP rated heat pumps in their Envision Series at 30 EER and 5 COP. EER stands for Energy Efficiency Ratio which is the Total Cooling Capacity in BTU/Hr divided by Power Input in Watts. COP stands for Coefficient of Performance which is Heating Capacity in BTU/Hr divided by Power Input in BTU/Hr.

Geothermal Loop Piping:
Geothermal loop piping is the heart of the ground source heating and cooling system. This is how the system differs from conventional air conditioning and heating system which utilizes air to cool or heat the refrigerant. Ground source heat pumps utilize water to serve the same purpose. In Central Valley’s weather where temperature reaches over a hundred degrees Fahrenheit in a stretch of time during summer and almost freezing temperature in the winter, air cooled cooling or heating system is very much affected by these extremes. Refrigeration system is all about heat exchange or heat transfer. That is why in the case of air cooled system when the air that cool or heat the refrigerant is too hot or too cold, the compressor which is the main component of the system that keeps the refrigeration cycle, works so much harder to reach the desired conditioned environment inside the building. Ground loop piping makes ground source heat pumps more efficient because the water that circulates under the ground doesn’t get influenced so much by the outside temperature. The ground absorbs heat during summer and rejects heat during winter while perpetually charges itself as the climate changes. We are virtually tapping the energy from the biggest battery in the world – the mother Earth for free.

At present, our capability is only limited to horizontal loop installation. But, as our company grows, we will acquire well rig to do vertical pipe loops so that we can have this system installed in smaller home lots and be available in tract homes.

Needless to say, having geothermal loop piping in our backyard is like owning a power plant in our own home.

Fifth, having built a very tight building envelop there also comes a problem with ventilation. During normal occupation of the house, stale air develops from cooking, bathing, using the bathroom, laundry, etc, and this needs to be vented out or exhausted. But, doing so will create vacuum inside the building envelop and forces to draw air from outside. That means in summer time letting hot air in and cold air in the winter thus losing the conditioned air inside the house and the energy that created that condition. Our solution to this problem is to install Heat Recovery Ventilation System that will be incorporated with the air ducting system. Vented air will go through a heat exchanger, warming or cooling the outside air first before being introduced into the air distribution system.

Ventilation accounts for almost 20% of the total heat load of the building. Heat Recovery Ventilators usually recovers 70 to 80 percent of the heat from the vented stale air and that could translate for an up to 14% reduction of the total heat load.

Sixth is employing the Unico System to deliver conditioned air. The Unico System is a small duct high-velocity system (SDHV) that’s 1/3 as large compared to the conventional system. In two or multi-story buildings, ducting can easily be ran in between floors so that no air duct runs in the attic where it can be subjected to extreme temperatures, thus avoiding air duct heat loss as the ducting system is kept inside the structures envelop. Unico System is one of the only two companies who got an exception from the U.S. Department of Energy for the minimum SEER/EER and HSPF efficiency requirement.

Seventh is utilizing independent temperature control system for every zone or room in the house through power operated dampers to maximize the efficiency of the air distribution system and lower the demand for cooling or heating. Install thermostats to control zone valves for radiant heating.

Eighth, automation for Lighting, HVAC, Plumbing, Security, Audio/Video, Sprinkler, Pool Lighting & Pump, Water Fountain and so much more in your control while maintaining the ability to operate these systems manually. This is an inexpensive option of employing automation that can be incorporated with the building to enhance energy conservation, security, comfort and convenience for the home owner. The automation system can be operated in a variety of ways including Touch Screens, Pocket PC PDA, LCD Keypad, LED Keypad, IR Remote, Computer, ASCII, Analog Inputs, Digital Inputs and Time/Event Schedule.

Ninth, installing solar system to offset the energy usage of the house and create a zero net energy structure. With all energy efficiency measures built into the house, combined with utilization of energy efficient appliances, lighting fixtures and equipment, solar system will then make sense. Photovoltaic cells and equipment used in the solar system are too expensive especially without rebates and government incentives. We cut down the energy demand first so that lesser solar components will be needed to attain a zero energy consuming house in terms of drawing electricity from the grid.


California License No. 870569
Classifications: C20, C10, C36, B, C2
Email: groundupbuilders@comcast.net
http://www.groundupbuilders.net