Early in the design of her home, Ms. Pettigrew decided that she would like her new home to be built with sustainable practices using green materials and products. The project is on track to meet the High Performace Home (HPH) requirements determined by the Oregon Department of Energy and to be certified as an Earth Advantage home . To meet the HPH standards, the home must include a renewable energy system that produces at least 1 kWh per square foot of conditioned space on an annual basis for photovoltaics or the equivalent for other technologies as listed in the BETC Technical Requirements. Ms. Pettigrew decided on a solar collector to use as a pre-heat to the instant water heating system. With the help and guidance of Advanced Energy Systems, a well-recognized local solar expert, an ICS (integral collector system) unit has been determined to be the best choice for this project. The system from SunEarth is self-contained and mounts on the roof facing south with minimal accomodations.
The calculations from Advanced Energy Systems for this unit show that the system will save an equivalent of 37 tons of CO2, 110 trees planted, or 3,790 gallons of gasoline.
Since the beginning of the project, there have been many individuals providing help and assistance for developing a new green home in the Eugene area. The Eugene Building Department has been very helpful and eager to assist. Between the incentives, the technical assistance, education, and training, the City of Eugene has hit a home run with their new Green Building Program. To read more about the benefits and incentives of building green in Eugene, visit the City of Eugene’s website here. Also, Eli Volum of Earth Advantage has been very informative and helpful during the intial designs to help assure compliance to maximize benefits for going green. We would like to thank everyone, mentioned and unmentioned, for their continuing patience and assistance with this project.