Energy-efficient Portland area housing
Brett and Lori Patten spent two years searching for their future home. For them, forward thinking is more than just a place to live for a long time. Their houses and their renewable energy need to minimize utility costs, maintain good indoor air quality, and most importantly, avoid the use of fossil fuels to protect the future of the planet.
After exploring the existing houses for sale, they decided to buy a house that can be installed with solar energy. Their new home was built by Ichijo USA in Hillsboro. Once photovoltaic panels are added to offset household electricity, based on its energy performance score, it is expected to achieve zero energy costs.
Pattens, who are in their 50s, envision that their retirement age can be exempted from electricity, petrol, and even petrol bills. With their new home on the road, and electric vehicles as part of the plan, the future can begin.
"For my wife and I, we want to be efficient in spending, especially when we live on a fixed income," Brett Patten said. "And we have a social awareness of how we contribute to the environment."
Everyone who has experienced Oregon’s cold winters, hot summers, and wildfire smoke seems to prefer a tightly structured, highly insulated house in which expensive heating or cooling air stays indoors while harmful particles stay. Outside.
The record heat wave in Portland soared to 116 degrees in June, during which the Pattens family escaped from an energy-efficient rental house-"This is cruel," Brett Patten said. "Upstairs is 10 degrees hotter than downstairs." ——Then go out and hang out in the Ichijo American model house, similar to their upcoming all-electric house in Reed's Crossing in Hillsboro.
He said that there is no huge air conditioner here, and he is panting, but the temperature at all levels has reached 68 degrees, which is refreshing.
Brett and Lori Patten own the solar-powered Brett Patten built by Ichijo USA at Reed's Crossing in Hillsboro
A sealed building envelope with controlled ventilation and air filtration systems can not only reduce energy use and costs, but also block smoke and other pollutants, and reduce moisture that can cause allergens and mold.
Triple-glazed windows and additional insulation in the attic, walls and floors can also eliminate outside noise. Solar and battery backup systems can keep electrical appliances and equipment running during power outages.
Although Pattens' plan is to use photovoltaic panels on the roof to generate electricity, tenants and homeowners can register for Community Solar to receive electricity from locally developed solar farms at a lower price than conventional electricity.
Under cold currents, heat waves, and most other possible climatic conditions, people can make other big and small improvements. The Oregon Energy Trust provides cash incentives for many upgrades.
For reasons of climate, indoor air quality and cost savings, more and more Oregonians are modernizing their houses to be fully electric, or looking for new buildings with 100% electricity, any of which can now be renewable energy.
For a long time, small homes ranging from duplexes to attached residential units (ADUs) have been using electrical and heating equipment to simplify installation and avoid increasing the cost of dedicated natural gas pipelines connected to larger natural gas pipelines.
According to NW Natural Gas, customers spend less to power furnaces, water heaters, ovens, stoves, and clothes dryers compared to 15 years ago, especially if they install high-efficiency natural gas stoves and air conditioners.
But electricity is still needed to power lights, electronic devices, air conditioners, or other devices.
More and more builders and owners of larger and more expensive homes have joined the electric home movement.
Since 1975, the Portland Metropolitan Home Builders Association (HBA) and its main sponsor, NW Natural, have jointly organized a luxury new home tour on the Street of Dreams. The association plans to continue the one-month event.
However, in October, HBA launched a new event, the Tour of Today's Home, which allows people to walk into eight fully electric houses equipped with solar panels and car charging stations. Also on display are zero-emission electric lawn mowers and leaf blowers that can replace gas lawn equipment.
According to experts, the construction industry accounts for about 40% of the world's carbon emissions. Furniture, fixtures and equipment also contribute to the overall carbon footprint. Experts say that making these products durable and sustainable will reduce their impact.
Designer Emily Henderson and her husband Brian are installing electrical appliances in a century-old farmhouse in southwest Portland. Suraya Barbee
Designer Emily Henderson, an influencer with 1 million blog fans, is renovating a century-old farmhouse for her family in southwest Portland. In order to increase her sustainable lifestyle, she is replacing gas appliances with electric heat pumps for cooling and heating air and heating water, and adding other electrical systems.
Henderson spoke candidly about the learning curve of cooking and baking with an induction cooker in her blog. Then she posted photos of high-end electric products by Ilve, Bertazzoni, Fisher and Paykel.
Henderson wrote that the AGA Mercury range of sensing is a real contender.
Researchers from Consumer Reports found that the electric flat top stoves they tested provided faster cooking times, better roasting and grilling, and more precise temperature control than gas.
After consulting with Green Expert Josh Salinger of Birdsmouth Design and Construction in Portland and Brian Stewart of Electrify Now, Henderson joined a community solar project to obtain 100% clean energy and renewable energy options for the green future of PGE. Energy does not come from natural gas-power plants.
"As we say at home every night,'We love you, Mother Earth,'" Henderson wrote.
Portland developer Eli Spevak is the owner of Orange Splot. He designs and builds all-electric houses in small communities, and recently built Cully Green in the Cully community in northeastern Portland.
Here, townhouses are gathered around a courtyard shaded by fir trees. Sound insulation walls with cellulose insulation, coated double-glazed windows and other green facilities reduce the operating costs of the home and help regulate the temperature.
Spevak said that ten years ago, environmentally conscious buyers asked him for tankless gas water heaters, floor radiant heat and gas stoves.
"Perhaps there was a time when it made sense to burn methane in our homes," he said.
"Today, the power system is healthier, safer, and more efficient," he said.
Eli Spevak of Orange Splot, Portland's Cully community, designed a new all-electric house designed to save energy. Cully Green
Rachel Trice of the Portland Metropolitan Home Builders Association said that Oregon’s recently updated building code requirements are among the most demanding in the United States. Nevertheless, developers and builders specializing in high-performance housing still exceed these requirements.
In addition to passive houses and net-zero energy houses, other green building certification programs include Earth Advantage, a Portland-based non-profit organization that promotes sustainable, high-quality buildings.
Another option is an Energy Star certified house, which produces less greenhouse gas emissions than typical buildings and meets the strict energy performance standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Douglas Macleod, who sells high-efficiency homes at Blue Sky Property Northwest, said that in the past 10 to 15 years, buyers have become more aware of environmental issues.
Most of his clients are first-time homebuyers and people who are shrinking. They also appreciate stricter building codes and voluntary upgrades by builders.
McLeod recently sold a 1,276-square-foot, all-electric new home in the Rosway neighborhood of northeast Portland for an asking price of $412,000. He also found a buyer for the 815 square foot house next door, priced at $342,500.
The government is also making progress.
McLeod said: “California will fully electrify new buildings in 2023.” “The Governor of Washington hopes to introduce legislation similar to California, and they are discussing the adoption of regulations that will force or encourage the construction of all-electric new buildings in Oregon. .
"It's coming," he added.
Nicholas Kinzie of Ashland tested the benefits of solar energy in a minimal way-using solar cell phone chargers. Over time, he has turned his house into net zero. It is powered by solar panels, can generate enough renewable energy to meet annual consumption, and uses Tesla Powerwall to provide backup power.
According to the Oregon Energy Trust, zero-energy houses can also reduce pollution and make houses healthier, quieter, more comfortable and more affordable.
Kinzie was named a successful case at Portland Sustainable Building Week 2021 in October, and he also upgraded to EcoSmart tankless water heater and solar loft fan.
In a video made for the virtual event in October, he explained that exterior blinds and retractable awnings help keep the heat or cold indoors.
For refurbishment or future renovations, the property usually also includes water-saving features and sustainable building materials as well as finishes that reduce waste.
Tad and Maria Everhart remodeled their two-story house near Mount Tabor in southeast Portland to use one-third of the electricity it once needed.
Under the guidance of strict passive house construction standards, they modernized the 24-year-old house to make it super-insulated and fully electric.
Proponents of Passive House prefer low-emission insulating materials, such as cellulose or wood fiber, rather than foam. The window has an additional layer between the inner glass and the outer glass. The arrangement of windows can maximize light, ventilation and visibility.
Everhart found that although no window can save energy like a highly insulated wall, triple-glazed windows are twice as resistant to heat flow as double-glazed windows required by law.
The total energy used to mine window materials, refine them, produce and then assemble, transport, and install windows-called embodied energy and emissions-is only about 5% or 10% more than standard windows.
"The good news is that we can use slightly more energy than traditional building products to produce high-performance building products," Everhart said.
Passive houses also take into account the size of the foundation, because the cement used for concrete requires a lot of energy, usually from burning coal. Everhart said that building materials and equipment are still mainly produced from fossil fuels.
The orientation and shape of houses on the site are also believed to reduce energy requirements.
The Everharts pay about $6 more per month for PGE's 100% renewable energy plan instead of getting energy from natural gas power plants. They say that the premium allows them to support the future without having to install wind turbines in the yard or install solar panels on the roof.
Tad Everhart said: “We are not powering our home to save money now or even for a long time.” “We did this to showcase the design and technology of the Passive House to help save our planet and All children."
More ionic energy-saving houses:
• Here are ways to reduce costs while keeping your home warm
• Take a look at the interior of this ultra-energy-efficient SE Portland Passive House
• Energy-efficient rentals in Laurelhurst bungalows help pay the owner’s ever-increasing taxes
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