An Eco Luxury, Net Zero & LEED Platinum Home Under Construction in Montecito, CA

Here is an update on the Eco Luxury House we are building at Butterfly Beach in Montecito, Ca. We collaborated with our friend and colleague Michelle Kaufman on the design of this home. Early on in the process we had intended this house to be a modular or prefab home because at that time we had the belief that this was the most proactive way for us to be as green as possible utilizing Michelle's five eco principles . This was not necessarily the case, and in the end we are actually building a custom home built on site that is as green or greener than our original prefab plan. In fact we are right on track to be the first LEED For Homes PLATINUM CERTIFIED home in Montecito and also hope to achieve and annual Net Zero Energy Equalibrium.  I know that Michelle is thrilled that we are determined to figure out how to make the most sustainable project as is possible now. It is the positive result of what turned into a somewhat unfortunate experience.

There is a sad tale with a happy ending that took us in our current direction. As many people know Michelle Kaufmann's company MKD Homes Closed it's doors in June of 2009.  We were slated to begin the prefabrication process of the original design for this house just as the factory and Michelle Kaufmann closed theirs doors. This was a terrible consequence of the poor economy last year. After we stopped reeling from this unfortunate news, we reorganized our process (at a cost of 4 months and substantial redesign expenditures) and became even more determined to build a sustainable home. In the end, we are building a very high end, high quality, custom, sustainable home. We are happy that Michelle reorganized is practicing architecture and design is still a champion of sustainable and even eco luxury design. Here's the new Michelle Kaufmann Studio.  Also, MKD Homes are now offered by  MKdesigns by blu homes which we think is fantastic that all of Michelle's intellectual collateral will continue on.  We wish Michelle and blu homes smooth sailing ahead!

Here's a Link to Our "Net Zero' Post

Here's a Link to Michelle Kaufmann's Blog Post aout this Eco Luxury House

See Also The New York Time: The Rise of 'Green' Modular Homes by Francesca Lyman

Green Games: Sustainability Stories at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games

In Vancouver the VANOC together with the International Academy of Sport Science and Technology (AISTS) based in Switzerland has built and executed a sustainability management system for the 2010 Winter Games.  Their goal was twofold: to produce sustainable operations and events: and to inspire athletes, sponsors and fans to do their part for a sustainable future. See Sustainability in Action.

The 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games are Going Green with Sustainability Efforts

The 2010 Olympic medals were made out of metal recovered from old electronics.

The False Creek Housing Project at the Olympic Village in Vancouver is slated to be Net Zero, consuming less energy than it produces.  Southeast False Creek (SEFC) will be a leading model of sustainability in North America. See City of Vancouver.  Rendering of Image courtesy Times Colonist

There are 12 Ways the VANOC built Sustainability into the 2010 Olympic Games.

This Eco Luxury Home Will Produce As Much Energy As It Consumes...Making It Net Zero

Maienza-Wilson's current project, in addition to being slated for LEED for Homes Platinum certification is a Montecito, California beach house that will also be a net zero energy home.  The concept of net zero is that a home generates the same amount of energy that it consumes on an annual basis. This is accomplished with the right combination of very efficient mechanical systems, lighting, building materials and appliance choices matched with properly sized solar systems to achieve an annual + net zero energy equilibrium. 

The project team worked with David Knight and his team at Monterey Energy Group to create a beautiful home that will also have a light touch on the earth.  

On the production side, the butterfly roof will hide 40 south facing solar photovoltaic panels, producing over 12,800 kWh (kilowatt hours) per year.

On the consumption side, spray-in foam insulation, high-performance windows and doors, an air to water heat pump for super efficient space conditioning and water heating, radiant floors, Energy Star appliances, and LED lights will make the home highly efficient so that the solar panels can provide all the power needed to run the home.

By being tied to the electric power grid, the home can actually feed power into the grid on bright, sunny days when it’s producing more than it needs to run the home and draw power at night and on rainy days when it needs more energy than it’s producing.  By balancing the supply and demand of energy over time, the result is a net zero energy home.

Guest Post by:

Patsy Stadelman, AICP 

Patsy is a Land Use Planner for Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP (http://bhfs.com/) in Santa Barbara, California and is on the Board of Directors for the California - Central Coast Section of the American Planning Association.