Case Study

Vital Stats Location: Seattle Star Level: 5-Star Checklist: Single Family Size: 2,667 square feet, 4br Section Points Site and Water 174 Energy Efficiency 155 Indoor Air Quality 120 Material Efficiency 120 Size Multiplier 1.05 Total Score 597.45

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Nelse Design + Build – Green Cubed
Seattle, WA

This month's featured project is a 5-Star single family home in the Seattle's Greenlake neighborhood built by Nelse Design + Build. A recipient of the Built Green Incentive in the inaugural 2007 funding cycle, this project is one of the first to complete construction. The project started by carefully planning for minimal impact to the site and providing for high water infiltration rates. The home has a vegetated roof system, no impervious surfaces outside the house footprint, no turf grass and a cistern for rainwater collection. The home itself was designed to be 30 percent more efficient than international energy code, and achieved a HERS rating of 56. The Structural Insulated Panel construction contributed to both high insulative efficiency as well as an average air leakage rate of 0.16 ACH. With no carpet and a whole home radiant heating system among many other indoor air quality features, the air in the home will be clean and healthy for the occupants. To reduce material impacts, the builder source separated all of the recyclable construction waste and achieved an overall diversion rate of over 90 percent, used salvaged cabinetry from another project and installed rapidly renewable bamboo flooring.

Some of the many green features of the project include:

Site and Water Protection

• Home built on an infill site
• Installed vegetated roof system
• Installed a cistern for rainwater collection
• Constructed no impervious surfaces outside of the home footprint
• Installed landscaping that will require no irrigation
• Used no turf grass
• Did not clear or grade during wet weather periods and used limited heavy equipment
• Provided a front porch
• Home built within 1⁄4 mile of a public transit stop
• Installed dual flush toilets to conserve in home water use

Energy-Efficiency

• Homes designed to be 30 percent more energy efficient than international energy code
• Home achieved HERS rating of 56 and an average air leakage of 0.16 ACH
• Used SIPS (Structural Insulated Panels) for whole home
• Installed high efficiency boiler for hydronic heating system
• Installed water heater with efficiency of .90 or better
• Installed hard wired fluorescent fixtures for 75 percent of home's lighting needs
• ENERGY STAR® front loading washers, dishwashers, refrigerators, and heating equipment
• Pre-wired for future photovoltaic panels

Indoor Air Quality

• No carpet used in home
• Low-VOC/low-toxic paints used for all major interior surfaces
• Installed Ductless heating system
• Used wood projects with no added urea formaldehyde for SIPS, shelving, windows and trim
• Garage air sealed from home and ventilated with automatic exhaust fan
• Built to have positive indoor air pressure using controlled ventilation
• Installed a drainage plane between SIPS and siding

Material Use

• Achieved 90 percent overall construction waste diversion rate by separating waste on site
• Re-used salvaged cabinetry
• Installed rapidly renewable bamboo flooring
• Used concrete slab sub-floor as finish floor
• Used a 50-year siding product and recycled content roofing product
• SIPS drastically reduce the amount of framing lumber used.

Still Images

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Photos courtesy of Paul Clark.

 

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