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• OCTOBER 7, 2008
  

• SEPTEMBER 11, 2008

In April 2007, Solar Harvest was outfitted with advanced data monitoring equipment, including Watt Nodes by Continental Controls Systems, to monitor the home's energy and comfort systems.  During the summer to follow, as we refined the equipment settings, Solar Harvest also went a dramatic change to be converted to an all-electric home.  With data monitoring in place, and conversions complete by September 1, 2007, we were excited to monitor our first full year as an all-electric home.  Today we are proud to publish data collected over the last year, and produce what will be the first of many Performance Verification Updates - providing publicly accessible data proving Solar Harvest's success as a net-zero energy home.  Click here to go to our Performance Verification page, or visit our streaming live energy systems monitor here.

• AUGUST 8, 2008

Boulder County Commissioners approve 2 energy efficiency ballot initiatives - we hope you join us in support of these resolutions

• July 09, 2008

• June 11, 2008

Eric Doub Gets New Appliances!

Ok, we admit, it's not the most news-worthy headline, but Energy Design Update thought it was news enough for their News Briefs section of the May, 2008 issue!  Click here to read the short brief and read on for our corrections:

The reasons behind the switching to all electric appliances are actually quite different from those reasons listed in the Brief.  Both the New York Times and Treehugger.com missed the boat on the real reasons motivating the switch.  So, in an effort to always present the truth, here are the primary reasons behind the change:

1.  Electricity is a much easier metric to use when calculating whether the home meets its annual net-zero energy goal; it is a simple energy used vs. energy produced equation.

2.  As we see more and more clean energy sources feeding into Xcel's energy grid - and the prospects for continued growth of clean energy continue to grow into the future - it becomes evident that in 10 or 15 years, electricity may be the cleaner energy source.  This, coupled with the predicted rise in natural gas costs, has led us to encourage our clients to build all-electric homes.  Last year Solar Harvest, ever the test home, became the first of Ecofutures' homes to demonstrate this design philosophy.

Finally, a note about air conditioning: the Coolerado Cooler is the most energy-efficient air conditioner on the market as a result of its A/C-evaporative cooler hybrid design.  It consumes 1/6 of the amount of energy as a conventional A/C unit: 550-600 Watts to provide 1200 CFM of 61-64 deg. F air (now that's newsworthy!).  Learn more at: www.coolerado.com

To offset the small amount of added energy use for the new appliances and Coolerado, Eric added 1.9 kW of "summertime" PV in the form of low-slope east- and west-facing PV panels.  Eric also removed the fishtank which once consumed the same amount of energy as three energy star refrigerators.



• May 23, 2008

Abramson Zero Energy Home Featured in Boulder County Business Report Set out to build "the greenest home in the country" Ron Abramson and his wife Lori contracted with us last year to design and construct a zero-energy home for their family.  After months of careful deliberation over energy and comfort systems design, advanced engineering, and material selection, we are finally about to begin the construction phase of the project.  Kicking off the start of construction, the home was featured in a very well-written BCBR article.  Click here to link to the BCBR website to read the full article.

• May 22, 2008

Boulder County Home Size Debate Recent legislation in Boulder County may be considered the most progressive legislation in the country - or the most stringent - in it's focus on reducing the carbon footprint of new and remodeled homes.  New County requirements ask that all new homes over 3,000 square feet achieve a HERS rating of 40 - roughly twice as energy efficient as an Energy Star rated home, and homes over 5,000 square feet achieve a HERS of 10 or less, making it a net-zero energy home.  Additionally, the city of Boulder is trying to reduce environmental impact by regulating home size based on lot size, but the proposal has been met with contention by the community.  Read the entire Environmental Building News article about these new codes.

• March 22, 2008
  

Solar Harvest Featured in New York Times "The Showhouse That Sustainability Built" that debuted today in the New York times brings readers' attention back to sustainbility and building costs.  By clearly laying out building costs vs. energy efficiency expenditures, the article tells and honest and eloquent story about how Eric was so successful in designing Solar Harvest.  The article available for free online also has a audio visual slideshow well worth a look.  Click here to read the full webpage and click here for the audio visual presentation.

• March 8, 2008

Eric Doub Featured in Rocky Mountain News Article on Efficient Home Popularity

A recent survey of homebuyers in the Denver area confirms what many builders have come to know is true: efficient homes are selling – fast.  A whopping 63% of homebuyers stated that they were looking to buy low- to zero-energy homes for their next home.  Vexing many builders is the fact that these homebuyers are looking for homes in the $200-$250,000 range – a price bracket formerly deemed unfeasible by non-savvy builders.  Builders like Ecofutures, however, have a realistic perspective on home costs and believe that low-cost low-to-no-energy homes are well within reach.  While it is true many of Ecofutures' homes come in well above the lower price range, we are quickly adapting lessons from complex homes to the affordable housing market. Using a mix of site- and systems-built techniques zero energy homes will soon be available for any income level.  Click here to read the full article.

• February 21, 2008

Final REGREEN Guide Published!

Final REGREEN Guidelines Published in time for the Interiors08 Conference in New Orleans!  Over the last several months, Eric has been collaborating with interior designers from across the country to create an all-encompassing guide to green remodeling with an integrated design perspective.  Visit www.REGREENprogram.org to download the manual.