Dynamic Design | Sustainable | Cost Effective

Today is the CRES 2011 Denver Area Solar and Green Homes Tour. Here are the project team members who will be onsite today to answer any questions:

Design- Build Firm

Donna Merten, President

Robert Ross, Project Architect

Pete Grant, Project Manager

Merten, Inc. 2917 17th Street; Boulder, CO 80302

720.304.0011 www.merteninc.com

GeoExchange System

Warren (Trey) Austin, PE, CGD

Geo-Energy Services, LLC, 14250 East Easter Place, Unit C; Centennial, CO 80112

303.531.5292, www.geoenergyservices.com

Landscape Design

Karla Dakin, Principal, ASLA

K. Dakin Design, 1240 LaFarge Ave; Louisville, CO 80027

303.604.2988, www.kdakindesign.com

HERS Rater

Francisco Reina, New Homes Manager

Lightly Treading, Inc., 4303 Brighton Blvd. Bldg. 3; Denver, CO 80216

303.733.3078, www.lightlytreading.com

Come see the project for yourself! The Denver Highlands Sustainable Home project is one of 12 homes selected for the CRES 2011 Denver Area Solar & Green Homes Tour. The date is Saturday, September 24th from 9 to 4. Our’s is one of several homes in the neighborhood on the tour, so consider seeing them all and make a day of it. Tickets are required. Please go to the CRES website for information.

The HERS Index was developed by Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET). A HERS Index of 100 represents the energy use of the “American Standard Building” while an index of 0 (zero) indicates that the building uses no net purchased energy…a lower value is better.

A projected HERS Index is based on the proposed or intended design prior to construction. A confirmed HERS Index is based on field verification and performance testing during and after construction.

Our projected HERS Index was 31. With a slightly smaller 4.9Kw versus the originally planned 5.17Kw solar PV system, our confirmed HERS rating is 32, which means our home is approximately 68% more energy efficient than the HERS reference home (American Standard Building).

We are doing things to lower our energy consumption beyond what the HERS computer software can capture. These include harvesting daylight from our many windows and solar tubes by not turning on lights and allowing the cool evening Colorado air to come in our windows at night during the summer months.

Our First Xcel Energy Bill indicates we are on the right track.

At the time we submitted information for the CRES 2011 Denver Area Solar & Green Homes Tour, our testing had resulted in a confirmed HERS Index of 38. Francisco Reina, Lightly Treading, Inc., since determined the Heat Recovery Ventilation (HRV) air flow had inaccurately been recorded. The vane anemometer originally used was not designed for low flow (residential) use. The second reading was taken with an Alnor 6200 Lo-Flo balometer.

We extended the kitchen exhaust hood from our dual fuel gas range to include a single induction cooker in the counter.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the efficiency of energy transfer for an induction hob is 84%, versus 71% for a smooth-top non-induction electrical unit, for an approximate 13% saving in energy for the same amount of heat transfer.

The picture shows the black quinoa we cooked for dinner tonight. Using the cooker takes some adjustment when you’re used to gas or electric, but the results are well worth it in more ways than just energy savings: grains are effortless to cook and come out perfectly! We are still figuring out how to master scrambled eggs, but early efforts have yielded respectable results.

Living Room

Kitchen

Exterior Patio

Greenhouse / Dining Room

Master Bedroom

Master Bath

AV Room 01

AV Room 02

Sasha's Bedroom

Guest Bedroom 01

Guest Bedroom 02

Exterior South Elevation

Exterior North Elevation

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These wonderful photos were taken by Daniel O’Connor Photography & Digital Media. Daniel spent several days with us exploring the angles, lighting and props to best capture the essence of our house. His spontaneous style and enthusiasm was energizing.

We received our first Excel Energy bill reflecting one full month of living in the house.

We used a total of 532 kW – $63.98 to keep 4,293 SF of finished space cool and to run our electrical appliances.

I should note our Solar Photovoltaic (PV) System is not yet installed. Once the 4.9 kW system is operable, we expect to generate enough electricity to offset what we use based on this first billing.

We operated our GeoExchange System during the day to keep the indoor temperature around 72-degrees – then turned it off at evening and opened our windows.

We have since raised our settings to 74-degrees and have switched our Water Furnace Envision Series system to the economizer setting. This setting causes the furnace to simply move air at the beginning of a demand cycle without turning on the compressor – allowing cooler air from other areas in the house to satisfy a zone  that might be calling for a cooler temperature.

Composting is a part of our overall plan to use less energy and create less waste.

After researching online, we decided to try the ComosTumbler system. The 68-gallon barrel rotates with a side crank allowing the material to mix. Vents keep air flowing and excess water draining.

For our first batch, we used weeds, grass clippings and shredded newspaper – we are about 5 days into the process.

We are storing our waste in a standard compost bin between batches.

As a part of our Final Permaculture Landscape Plan, we included a conventional raised bed area for summer and fall vegetables. We moved in just in time to plant tomatoes, squash peppers and eggplant.

The raised beds are positioned for southern exposure and are also sitting at the lowest point of our site. Rain water as well as any excess irrigation flows from all sides of the house to this point.

Even with the sun high in the summer sky, our first vegetables appear to be receiving enough light and heat in our Greenhouse / Dining Room.

We started out with cucumbers and a cherry tomato plant. The tomato plant in the greenhouse is twice the size of the one I planted at the same time outdoors.

For we our indoor vegetables, we are using the EarthBox system. We have peppers, chard and herbs on the patio which we’ll move indoors once the temperature drops.