Not long ago a buddy let us borrow her hybrid car so we could travel from Port Angeles, Washington, to Seattle. The car was amazingly energy efficient. A really cool feature was the dash display, which provided constant feedback on power source and use. By way of example, when we had been waiting in a drawbridge, we could see exactly when the gas engine supplied power and when the car was in battery mode only. And while in motion, the display kept us advised as to how many miles per gallon we had been getting. Sure , having that instant feedback changed how I drove, moving a little slower rather than being, as my wife would say, Speed Racer all the time.
Along with the car was quite comfortable, even luxurious. It was a larger sedan that I could fit in comfortably, and it had a great sound system. Not once did we feel as though we were giving something up in the name of efficiency. Which brings up the question: Should we could build cars in this way, why can’t we do the same for homes?
Well, the good news is we could. Here is just 1 example: a house created by Lake/Flato Architects, in which a few superb architecture is combined with energy efficiency for a really unique home.
Lake Flato Architects
The customer approached the architects and asked for an extremely renewable house; the architects, who are committed into the 2030 Challenge, made a house that is LEED Platinum certified. In brief, the 2030 Challenge is a target that all new and renovated buildings become carbon neutral by the year 2030. A number of strategies, from low-tech yet proper site design to high tech collectors, were utilized to attain that aim with this home.
However, what makes this house special is its layout. In reality, Tenna Florian, the project architect,” says her favourite aspect of the home is the way its shape was determined by existing tree locations. Instead of having rooms organized in a linear article, the residence is L-shaped to accommodate existing features of the site. While a single leg of the L has a great deal of glass area to create bright and light people spaces, glazing has been kept to a minimum on the opposite leg.
Lake Flato Architects
Extensive clerestory windows turn the house to a superb and warm lantern in the evening when ensuring that no artificial lighting is needed throughout the whole day.
While there’s a great deal of glass in the house, it is strategically placed for the most benefit with the minimum cost and energy reduction. Tenna points out that a normal custom made home has 30 to 40 percent of the wall area as glass, yet this home has 23 percent, which is closer to a normal property.
Lake Flato Architects
A lot of the glass is in the form of clerestory windows, which offer amazing views of the sky and treetops.
The most important entry is in the junction of the two legs of the L. This entry is kept low, with a ceiling height of only 7 feet, 6 inches, to give a feeling of compression and also make the major living space feel taller and brighter.
Lake Flato Architects
By supplying this interior courtyard in the junction of the two legs of the L, and the architects assured that every room gets natural light from two sides. This keeps the interior bright and light and, when the courtyard landscaping evolves, enables views of nature from each area.
Lake Flato Architects
In keeping with the clients’ goal of creating an extremely sustainable residence, a photovoltaic system creates electricity. The energy generated by this system is monitored in real time, so the owners could see how their property is performing.
The tracking platform, by eMonitor, price less than $1,000 and helps the owners know where the electricity comes from and how it’s being used. By way of example, this picture shows a sizable fall-off of energy production in the photovoltaic system. This enabled the owners to rapidly see that there was a issue, diagnose its origin and do the essential fix. If it hadn’t been for the tracking system, the issue might easily have gone unnoticed.
Lake Flato Architects
This picture is really telling; it reveals how much energy every action absorbs. (It must be mentioned that the house has several television sets, computers and other modern-day applications. The owners do not, by any stretch of the imagination, live anything but 21st-century lives.)
This picture shows that a little thing, the instant hot water dispenser in the kitchen, is a large consumer of electricity. Rather than giving up the pleasure and advantage of having a cup of tea without needing, the homeowners set up an on-off switch to restrict the amount of time the warm water dispenser draws power.
The house is also equipped with a”green switch” from the garage. If the owners leave the home for any elongated period, they can easily reverse the green switch to turn off many of those items that would stay on and continue to draw electricity. This kind of electricity usage, sometimes referred to as a vampire load, may be quite significant. Think about all those devices that maintain drawing electricity even when not in use.
Lake Flato Architects
The tracking system also provides insights into how much energy the home was created to consume, how much energy it was designed to produce and how much actual energy is produced and consumed. Real-time metrics inform the owners if they’re hitting their targets and, if not, why not.
Lake Flato Architects
Drumroll, please… in 2012 the home generated more energy than it consumed. Wouldn’t it be fine for all our homes to do that?
Lake Flato Architects
While the observation and photovoltaic systems are really high-tech approaches to energy efficiency, there’s nothing better than creating enjoyable spaces that let us live comfortably and…
Lake Flato Architects
… harvesting and repurposing 100 percent of that which normally gets wasted — as in, all the rainwater getting caught, used for irrigation or returned into the community’s water source.
