{"id":13445,"date":"2011-09-13T11:00:04","date_gmt":"2011-09-13T17:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.sustainablog.org\/?p=13445"},"modified":"2017-06-01T18:51:09","modified_gmt":"2017-06-01T22:51:09","slug":"net-zero-building-townhouse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/net-zero-building-townhouse\/","title":{"rendered":"Seattle Net-Zero Townhome Building a Tribute to Less-Sexy Tech"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_13447\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13447\" style=\"width: 500px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/seattle-net-zero-townhouse-building.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13447\" title=\"seattle net zero townhouse building\" src=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/seattle-net-zero-townhouse-building.jpg\" alt=\"seattle net zero townhome building\" width=\"500\" height=\"669\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/seattle-net-zero-townhouse-building.jpg 500w, https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/seattle-net-zero-townhouse-building-224x300.jpg 224w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13447\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Net-Zero zHome Townhouse Complex<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>We green techies types love our <a href=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/free-solar-power-system-richmond-california\/\"target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">solar arrays<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wind-power-facts-plan-b-economy\/\"target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">wind turbines<\/a>. Sure, that love comes partially from their ability to harvest energy without burning or emitting anything&#8230; but the aesthetic appeal of these technologies also plays into it. When taking a look at the building above, you&#8217;re probably drawn immediately to the solar panels&#8230; and the architect clearly used them as a design element as well as an energy source.<\/p>\n<p>This gorgeous structure, a new, net-zero townhome building set to open in Issaquah, Washington, certainly relies on the photovoltaic panels for a part of the energy equation. But while the solar elements stand out, the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.z-home.org\"target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">zHome<\/a> is really a tribute to less sexy (and, generally, more affordable) technology. The solar panels offset a third of the building&#8217;s energy use; the remaining 66% of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.z-home.org\/energy-usage.php\"target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">net-zero goal<\/a> comes from:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Super insulation:<\/strong> Specifically, nine inches of polystyrene foam that provides &#8220;nearly twice the insulative value (R-38 walls and R-60 ceilings, for you techies) of a wall built to the Washington State Energy Code.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li><strong>Double-paned windows and very airtight walls:<\/strong> Very little heated or cooled air is going to escape from these homes, which, of course, means energy and money saved.<\/li>\n<li><strong>A groundsource heat pump:<\/strong> This behind-the-scense technology will heat both air and water.<\/li>\n<li><strong>A heat recovery ventilator:<\/strong> OK, this is kind of cool, but not in a visual way: the ventilation system pulls heat from escaping air to warm cooler incoming air.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Efficient lighting and energy monitoring systems are also a part of the package &#8211; again, not the stuff of photo spreads. The zHome also features comparable water savings, along with other elements you&#8217;d expect in a green development: recycled and sustainably-harvested building materials, low\/no-VOC paints and finishes, and wildlife and water-friendly landscaping and exterior elements.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13448\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13448\" style=\"width: 500px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/zhome-courtyard.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13448\" title=\"zhome courtyard\" src=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/zhome-courtyard.jpg\" alt=\"The courtyard of the zHome net zero townhome development\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/zhome-courtyard.jpg 500w, https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/zhome-courtyard-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13448\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A courtyard view of the zHome development<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The beauty of all of this technology that doesn&#8217;t get the same level of green techie buzz: the builders were able to achieve the net-zero status while keeping the homes in the mid-price range for the market. Yes, $400,000 &#8211; $600,000 price tags may make us in the Midwest gasp or wince&#8230; but that&#8217;s pretty reasonable for the Seattle area. The Seattle market is growing rapidly and there are lots of great companies based there, including <a href=\"http:\/\/khaninjurylaw.com\/seattle-car-accident-lawyer\/\"target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Khan Law Firm<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Part of the goal here is scalability &#8211; so hitting this price range was critical. The zHome strikes me as a concept that could be replicated elsewhere&#8230; and still hit that mid-market sweet spot.<\/p>\n<p>Take a look through the building&#8217;s very thorough website, and let us know what you think&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Images<\/strong> courtesy of zHome<\/p>\n<p><em>This post was retroactively sponsored by Nifty Marketing<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We green techies types love our solar arrays and wind turbines. Sure, that love comes partially from their ability to harvest energy without burning or emitting anything&#8230; but the aesthetic&nbsp;[ &hellip; ]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":156,"featured_media":13447,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6646],"tags":[134,91,15,5346,464,6,5347,5348],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Net Zero Building Offers Townhomes in Mid-Market Price Range<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The zHome development outside of Seattle achieves net zero energy and carbon rating while keeping its townhomes in the mid-price range.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/net-zero-building-townhouse\/\" 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