BOULDER - When it comes to green building, Boulder often blazes a path that others follow, so it seems appropriate that Boulder County will soon host the nation's most environmentally friendly home.
The driving force behind the project, Ron Abramson, recognized early the importance of environmental sustainability. He currently lives on the East Coast in a home that uses renewable energy and energy-saving practices, such as 100 percent wind energy
"Even with those things in the mix it still didn't go far enough," said Abramson, president and chief executive of NexGen Energy Partners LLC, a renewable energy company based in Maryland. Abramson and his wife, Lorie, wanted to do more to decrease their carbon footprint.
"My wife and I set out a few years ago to build the greenest home in North America," Abramson said, and from the looks of it, they are well on their way to doing just that.
The new home will rate about a seven on the Home Energy Rating Standard, a nationally administered energy rating system with a scale of 0 to 100. A net zero energy home is assigned a index of zero. Each one-point decrease from 100 represents a 1 percent energy savings. Homes earning five energy stars, the highest rating, start at 70 points.
For the design, Abramson partnered with Boulder architect Kyle Callahan of Kyle Callahan and Associates last summer. The result blends environmental design and aesthetics.
"Kyle can make a home green but look completely normal," Abramson said.
Callahan likes the way the design meshes with its surroundings.
"It's thoroughly context sensitive in that it relates to its environment and the buildings around it very well ... . The Cartwrights could live there," Callahan said of the plans for the 6,500-square-foot home.
Ground breaking for the home, located about 10 miles north of Boulder, should take place in the next few months.
For the build itself, Abramson was willing to use any builder in the country, but Callahan steered him toward Boulder-based green builder Ecofutures Building Inc., and Eric Doub, president and founder of the company.
"Eric is hands down the best green builder in the nation, and we're blessed to have him in the community," Abramson said. He and his family plan to move to Boulder this summer to keep an eye on how the project develops.
Doub expects the home to produce all its own energy with some to share. It should produce 50 to 80 percent extra energy. The extra energy will be returned to the electric grid.
"He'll be powering the neighborhood in part," Doub said.
To make the home as green as possible, Doub will employ a number of techniques, such as passive solar, active solar and careful materials selection.
Most of the home's heat will come from "sun spaces," or greenhouselike rooms on the south side of the house. The hot air from these spaces will be actively pumped throughout the home, Doub said.
"The whole house acts as a battery and then just coasts," Doub said, and the sun spaces eliminate problems that can occur with passive solar like sun drenching or overheating.
Photovoltaic and solar thermal panels will be used to power the home as well. Another key to the design is a tight build, so little energy is lost. To keep indoor air quality high, nontoxic products will be used to reduce off-gassing.
Additionally, each product used for the home, from the wood in the frame to the paint on the walls, is being examined to assess their environmental health.
"We are running all of our materials through life cycle filters," Doub said. These models will ensure products used are environmentally sustainable at each life stage. Doub calls this a "cradle-to-cradle" philosophy, meaning that from the production of a material to its disposal little harm is done to the environment.
Abramson doesn't just want his home to be green, he wants it to be an inspiration.
"We're employing cutting-edge technology and green building standards, and my absolute goal is to share that with other people in the community," Abramson said. Traditionally the bottom line determined builders' practices, but that system ignores the bigger picture, Abramson said.
"It's free, cheap and easy to pollute. There is a true cost, but that cost has not been passed down to those doing the polluting," Abramson said, but he thinks this attitude, especially in places like Boulder, with green building standards is changing.
As more people use environmentally sound building practices, it becomes more affordable for all.
"One of the things that makes me proudest about the project is that it doesn't cost much more than a standard home," Abramson said. He expects the project to cost about 8 percent more than if the home was traditionally built.
Eric Doub agrees cost is less of a factor than many people think.
"If anybody doesn't have the budget, it just means they haven't worked hard enough on the design. It's called build smart for a reason," Doub said, and tweaks can often eliminate wasted space, without losing comfort or resale value. Savings that can then be put toward better environmental practices.
"The whole house acts as a battery and then just coasts," Doub said, and the sun spaces eliminate problems that can occur with passive solar like sun drenching or overheating.
Photovoltaic and solar thermal panels will be used to power the home as well. Another key to the design is a tight build, so little energy is lost. To keep indoor air quality high, nontoxic products will be used to reduce off-gassing.
Additionally, each product used for the home, from the wood in the frame to the paint on the walls, is being examined to assess their environmental health.
"We are running all of our materials through life cycle filters," Doub said. These models will ensure products used are environmentally sustainable at each life stage. Doub calls this a "cradle-to-cradle" philosophy, meaning that from the production of a material to its disposal little harm is done to the environment.
Abramson doesn't just want his home to be green, he wants it to be an inspiration.
"We're employing cutting-edge technology and green building standards, and my absolute goal is to share that with other people in the community," Abramson said. Traditionally the bottom line determined builders' practices, but that system ignores the bigger picture, Abramson said.
"It's free, cheap and easy to pollute. There is a true cost, but that cost has not been passed down to those doing the polluting," Abramson said, but he thinks this attitude, especially in places like Boulder, with green building standards is changing.
As more people use environmentally sound building practices, it becomes more affordable for all.
"One of the things that makes me proudest about the project is that it doesn't cost much more than a standard home," Abramson said. He expects the project to cost about 8 percent more than if the home was traditionally built.
Eric Doub agrees cost is less of a factor than many people think.
"If anybody doesn't have the budget, it just means they haven't worked hard enough on the design. It's called build smart for a reason," Doub said, and tweaks can often eliminate wasted space, without losing comfort or resale value. Savings that can then be put toward better environmental practices.
