Here is a sneak peak of the new "Glenn Retreat" project which is projected to be a LEED for Homes "Platinum" project. This Passive Solar designed Farm House Style cottage will be built by Doug Wierenga of Lake Home Builders. The perspective above is a southeast 3d perspective created with Google SketchUp software. By double clicking on this perspective you are able to see an enlarged view that shows the 2'-6" overhangs and the passive solar awnings that shade the sun from coming it to the home during the summer keeping this cottage naturally cool for summer enjoyment. There was an old existing cottage on this site that was beyond repair so the homeowners decided to re-use as much of the material as possible in there new cottage. You'll enjoy how these re-used material are worked into the interior design of this new cottage. This new cottage will use Advanced Framing methods (24" o.c. framing) w/Agra Based Open Cell Foam insulation and Geo-thermal heating and cooling to achieve the highest in energy efficiency. The home uses Lifetime design and Not So Big House design principle through-out the home making it the ultimate Retreat for family and friends of all ages to visit. Every material going into this home has been studied and research to make sure it is the greenest most sustainable choice for this home. The exterior landscaping was designed by Landscape Design Services, Inc. to meet the stringent LEED for Homes requirement and still be beautiful throughout the season. To follow this project through construction please follow the home owner web-log by clicking on "Glenn Retreat" at the beginning of this article.
Showing posts with label LEED for Homes certifed projects in Michigan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LEED for Homes certifed projects in Michigan. Show all posts
The "Glenn Retreat" Project is Under Construction
Here is a sneak peak of the new "Glenn Retreat" project which is projected to be a LEED for Homes "Platinum" project. This Passive Solar designed Farm House Style cottage will be built by Doug Wierenga of Lake Home Builders. The perspective above is a southeast 3d perspective created with Google SketchUp software. By double clicking on this perspective you are able to see an enlarged view that shows the 2'-6" overhangs and the passive solar awnings that shade the sun from coming it to the home during the summer keeping this cottage naturally cool for summer enjoyment. There was an old existing cottage on this site that was beyond repair so the homeowners decided to re-use as much of the material as possible in there new cottage. You'll enjoy how these re-used material are worked into the interior design of this new cottage. This new cottage will use Advanced Framing methods (24" o.c. framing) w/Agra Based Open Cell Foam insulation and Geo-thermal heating and cooling to achieve the highest in energy efficiency. The home uses Lifetime design and Not So Big House design principle through-out the home making it the ultimate Retreat for family and friends of all ages to visit. Every material going into this home has been studied and research to make sure it is the greenest most sustainable choice for this home. The exterior landscaping was designed by Landscape Design Services, Inc. to meet the stringent LEED for Homes requirement and still be beautiful throughout the season. To follow this project through construction please follow the home owner web-log by clicking on "Glenn Retreat" at the beginning of this article.
Image Design Web-log's 3rd Anniversary
Tomorrow is the 3 year anniversary (July 31, 2006 to July 31, 2009) of our Image Design Web-log. We hope you have found this web-log to be interesting and informative. I really enjoy writing it and have received allot of positive response to having it. Since I put a counter on my web-log about a year and a half ago we have had 22,200 people visit our site. I am currently working on a new web-site beside having this web-log. Our new web-site will be able to show more of our past, present and future projects along with being able to purchase some of our most popular plans online. I would like to thank those of you how visit this site often and hope you keep visiting this site. A great way to stay in touch with this site is to click on the follow button on the right side of the web-log and become a Follower on this site!. Thanks to those of you that are already Follower on this site.
A HERS Score of 34!!!
Exciting news from Mike Holcomb of AES (Our LEED for Homes rater) and Adam Bearup of Hybrid Homes our "Vineyard Project" just received a HERS score of 34. This is the lowest score Mike Holcomb has every tested as a rater and possibly the lowest score in the State of Michigan. This extremely low HERS score means that our "Vineyard Project" is now projected at the "Platinum" Level under the LEED for Homes program. Both Adam and I are very excited about this news.What is a HERS, or Home Energy Rating System score? Well it is basically a rating of how energy efficient a home is based on a number of things, including a blower door test, the HVAC system, energy usage, and so on. The HERS rating is what is used to qualify a home for the Energy Star Rating. The rating is based off of a standard new home built to code that was rated originally tested and used as the test case with the score of 100. A typical older home has a HERS index of 125-150. Most homes that qualify for Energy Star homes must have a HERS rating of 85. That means that those homes are 15% more energy efficient than the test house. This is really good and a step in the right direction. Most of our homes have been scoring in the 50's, which is where we would expect the to fall. That HERS score would qualifies our homes as 5 star+ in the Energy Star rating system. The "Vineyard Project" came in at 34 (lower the better) making it 66% more efficient than a new home built to code.
Based on their Home Energy Rating System (HERS) scores, the average home certified under LEED for Homes since its launch in February 2008 is predicted to use an estimated 30-60% less energy than a comparable home built to International Energy Conservation Code. Based on the average HERS ratings for each level of LEED certification, these homes could potentially see energy reductions of:
- Certified: Up to 30%.
- Silver: Approximately 30%.
- Gold: Approximately 48%.
- Platinum: 50-60%.
As many know, Adam and I are firm believer in Kaizan ( A Japanese philosophy Adam introduced me too), or continuous improvement. We are continually studying the design & construction of our homes to make improvements to them so they are as energy efficient as possible within their budgets. So even though a HERS rating of 34 is the best we have achieved so far our goal are to continually improve upon that score with the ultimate goal of a HERS score of 0. You can read Adam's take on it at his blog.
2009 Michigan Energy Fair
Its time again for the Michigan Energy Fair! Come visit the fair June 26th - 28th in Onekama, Michigan and see the latest in green building technologies. We are proud to have our projected LEED for Homes "Gold" project called the "Granite Hill Project" in Kingsley Michigan (Just outside of Traverse City) Be the 2009 Michigan Energy Fair Show House its also the first LEED for Homes project in Grand Traverse County. Many of you toured our 2007 & 2008 Energy Fair Show House in Onekama which was West Michigan's first LEED for Homes "Platinum" project and won numerous local and national awards.Stop by our booth (booth #8) and see what we have be up to since last year and get a look at some our latest projects. We are able to show multiple projects using the latest in Sustainable/Green building technologies such as ICF's (Insulated Concrete Form), SIP Panel (Structural Insulated Panels), Advanced Framing, Straw Clay Construction, Passive Solar Design, Solar Hot, Photovoltaic, Wind Generation, Geo-Thermal, Zero-Energy Homes (ZEH) along with the use of the Lifetime Design ( Aging-in-place or Barrier Free Design) and the Not So Big House Design Principles.
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