Which way do you run the streets to maximize solar exposure for dense Net Zero development?
Common wisdom states that the optimal streets run east west, which makes sense if you’re the house on the north side of the street, because there’s nothing shading your house, garden or solar panels. However, living on the south side of the street, you suffer from north facing gardens and probably some shading unless the lots are 5000sf or greater.
Critically, 10 dwelling units (du) per acre is the density with enough inhabitants to support a bus service (*1), a key part of the sustainable urbanist vision for transit, pedestrian & bike use, rather than private cars. An acre is 43500sf.
My conclusion is that the common wisdom is wrong for dense, Net Zero development, that the streets should run north-south.
A Net-Zero house has most of the windows on the south side of the house because south facing windows can be effectively shaded from summertime overheating, and can harvest wintertime solar energy.
Because all the windows are on the south walls, we can’t have another 2-story house immediately to the south as shown in ‘East-West 3700’ below, or the valuable direct wintertime sunlight will be prevented from entering & you’ll have a house that is gloomy all winter.
Sure, if the lots are big, we can keep the southern house away, as shown in ‘East-West 4500’ below, but then we end up with less than 10 du/ acre (du/a) and there’s no bus & everyone’s driving cars.
The ‘North-South 3800’ drawing below shows a 1-story neighbor garage to the south, avoiding shade. Bingo! That’s a 3800sf lot, and offers 11.34 du/a. Additionally the frontage length is reduced which lowers roadway & utility development costs.
(*1) Transit modes related to residential density (Boris Pushkarev & Jeffry M Zupan)
This just in and hot off the press – the House in the Hollow Case Study! TC Legend built this net-zero house through the winter of 2020/ 2021.
The house-in-a-hollow isn’t really in a hollow, it’s on a knoll, above protected wetlands, northeast of Bellingham. The hollow is formed by the trees, which were preserved to shield the house from overheating, and to conserve the flora of the native wetlands.
Measuring 1950 square feet, this Department-of-Energy certified Net Zero clerestory design has a central kitchen and a 1st floor aging-in-place floorplan. Designed for an Alaskan couple whose love of the outdoors demanded a house that fully engaged with the landscape, plenty of daylight is admitted & access to outdoor living is easy.
“Builder TC Legend Homes of Bellingham, Washington, aims for quality and sustainability in every home it constructs and company founder Ted Clifton Jr. has found the U.S. Department of Energy’s Zero Energy Ready Home program is an ideal way to achieve that goal.”
“The DOE Zero Energy Ready Home program is a great benchmark not only for ourselves, but for all those looking to build or purchase a home that is eco-friendly. Since the program incorporates ENERGY STAR and Indoor airPLUS, holds high standards for energy efficiency, and is nationwide, it is an easy way to compare homes across the board and that reduces confusion for purchasers,” said Clifton.
“It’s also great that the DOE program has a very low cost barrier. There are many other certification programs that charge large fees, making it difficult for small builders to participate. Or, the cost of the fees gets passed along in higher home prices, increasing the barrier to purchase for many people,” Clifton added.
Since 2015, TC Legend Homes has built all of its homes to the DOE program criteria. The builder typically constructs one spec home and five or six custom homes for buyers each year and currently has nine homes under construction. In 2022, the builder was recognized by DOE for its efforts with a Housing Innovation Grand Award in the category “Custom for Buyer under 2,500 ft2.”
Modeled Performance Data of House in the Hollow:
• HERS INDEX: without PV: 33 with PV: -23
• Annual Energy Costs: without PV: $600; with PV: $-280
• Annual Energy Cost Savings: without PV: $1,200; with PV: $2,150
• Annual Energy Savings: without PV: 8,400 kWh; with PV: 20,350 kWh
• Savings in the First 30 Years: without PV: $48,930; with PV: $86,550
As we come towards the end of 2022, which in former years Winter was our slow season, the company is still quite busy with our six houses in the queue!
The end of the year is always a great time to reflect on these past four seasons and solar cycle.
Especially 2022… this was a record breaking year for TC Legend Homes!
The crew gathered for a Holiday party last Friday at Norm’s place, and took a moment to appreciate our team’s hard work and how far we’ve come….
TC Legend Homes 2022 Achievements
HIA Grand Award Winner Custom Homes for Buyer (< 2500 Square Feet) – House in a Hollow
Built Green 5-Star Certifications on all (4) projects completed this year
All (4) projects received a HERS score of -8 or better
Sold our first Net Zero spec house- Cascade!!
To be featured in (2) Bellingham Alive articles
Hired on (2) new employees & expanding diversity in our team.
Took 58th Place in the 2022 Ski to Sea event and getting 4th in the Corporate Division!
Designer Talia hosted her first educational seminar on Embodied Carbon in the Sustainable Connections Embodied Carbon series.
Owner Ted was a panelist at a conference about building with panels.
Started offering SIPs and ICF training to contractors and eligible individuals.
Senna hosted two Green Energy Home Tours.
Started a TC record-breaking (6) projects in one year!
Launching a Brand New Plans for Sale website – great work Design Team!!
Surviving and thriving during a pandemic!
And the numerous days everyone went skiing together!!
We survived and thrived in a world pandemic with zero turn-over, while retaining our staff at their full-time hours and hourly wages (PLUS+ performance & wage raises to match the increasing cost of living). That’s a HUGE feat! Major kudos to our leadership, and rock solid team!
“Yes… Quite the accomplishments…& Cheers to you, sir!”
One of my (Senna’s) favorite things about getting the crew all together are these EPIC potlucks! The team really brings their A-game! 🙂
Dan the ‘Meat Man’ – “We have the Meats” (don’t sue us Arby’s)
The team & loved ones indulged in some Spiced Egg Nog, Hot Buttered Rum, Mulled Wine… and of course, dessert!
The kiddos had fun making gingerbread houses, candles, and compostable buildings! Here are the results of the Boys vs. Girls. Which one do you like most? Not sure they are net-zero energy though.
Maybe that’s a solar panel on top?Great job girls!
TC Kiddos Making Ginger Bread Houses!
Nicole facilitated the White Elephant gift exchange. Jeff got a bunch of worker’s pencils, Mile’s got some Mad Libs, Dan got one of Isaac’s amazing pottery chalices, Nicole won a hangover kit, Jake got some truffles (which Nicole later stole!), Senna and her son got a Christmas blanket!
White Elephant Gift Pile!The festive name-drawing hat, Sported by Soren.
A knee brace, something called a ‘Damnit Doll,’ and Fun Facts for toilet reading were some other gifts that went around!
Close up of Jeff 🙂One of the kiddos showing off their candies
Such a big thank you to the team, our customers, subcontractors and of course, our loved ones & SUPPORT TEAM! We couldn’t do it nearly as well without you. 🙂
Jake rocking the hat.
From the TC Family, we send you and your loved ones our warmest regards full of peace, health, happiness, and prosperity in the coming year.
TC Legend Homes – Bellevue Net Positive Energy Home
Located on a portion of a subdivided, family property, this 2,614 SqFt Bellevue, WA home is a beautifully built house that helps to foster multigenerational ties and community. With a 5-Star Built Green rating, EPA IndoorAir Plus certification, and a Net Zero Energy certification, this award-winning TC Legend home is an example of the influence and success of the Build Green program. With a specific focus on indoor air quality, this home employs a new ventilation and air filtration system, helping to make it a safe and comfortable environment for its occupants.
Built with passive and active solar needs in mind, the two-storey house faces south. Numerous triple glazed Vinvltek windows on the south side provide passive heating and light within the home. These windows and others throughout the house are coupled with white interior paint to help provide significant daylighting and reduce energy demand from the 100% LED home lighting. The home also employs a 12.87kW photovoltaic system, producing enough power to make the home net positive and power an electric vehicle. With a shell system constructed from 6.5” SIPs walls, 10.25” SIPs roof, 4” foam under the slab-on-grade, ICF form slab-edge stemwalls & U 0.18 average triple pane windows, this house has a tight envelope, helping to reduce energy consumption.
The three-bedroom, two bath house is meant to allow the occupants to age in place with the kitchen, main living space, a bedroom and bathroom, and ADA compliant doorways on the first floor. The state-of-the-art fresh air system includes a Zehnder 350 HRV, Zehnder Comfopost inline heating/ cooling coil, and HEPA air filtration system. This system allows for fresh, filtered air to enter the home throughout the day and to be increased when needed, such as when the kitchen hood fan is drawing smoke out of the kitchen during cooking. This fresh air system keeps the indoor air clean, reducing particulates in the air, even when the outdoor air quality is particularly poor such as during a summer forest fire.
Overall, this home is a comfortable, clean, and net positive building, allowing the homeowners to be happy, healthy, and confident in the knowledge that their home is serving their needs and protecting the environment in the process. The BuiltGreen Certificate of Merit and 5-Star rating this home received help to reinforce this knowledge due to the standard of excellence required of BuiltGreen certified homes.
Built Green highlights:
SITE & WATER
Long term erosion reduction strategies in place
Over 70% of building site left undisturbed with preservation of trees and native vegetation
Stormwater infiltration system catches all stormwater from the site and the uphill grandparents house, mitigating flow
Approx. 50% of the lot is turf grass
Watersense certified fixtures and low flow fixtures and toilets
Rainwater collection ready
ENERGY
Net-Positive Home with a HERS score of -22 and extra power to serve an electric vehicle
12.87 kW roof PV array
Substantial envelope insulation lowers heating requirement: R-30 walls, R-49 roof, R-20 under slab, R-24 slab-edge, average U-0.18 windows
Triple-paned Vinyltek Windows with u-values from 0.15-0.22
Passive Heating Design strategies utilized
Chiltrix Air-to-Water Heat Pump for heating and domestic hot water with COP of 3.92
AeroBarrier air sealing and blower door results of 0.47 ACH50
100% LED lighting
All Energy Star certified appliances
Energy Star certified
DOE Zero-Energy Ready certified
HEALTH & INDOOR AIR QUALITY
Indoor AirPLUS certified
Solid wood cabinets with Low-VOC finish
All Low-VOC paints, adhesives, and sealants
No gas-burning appliances in house
HEPA Air Filtration System
Zehnder HRV with ComfoPost
MATERIALS EFFICIENCY
Graphite SIPS for exterior walls and ceilings
ICF foundation walls
85%+ of waste recycled
Locally produced lumber, SIPs, concrete, cabinets, doors, and siding
Exterior cedar posts constructed form telephone pole MFG waste
Leftover materials moved to next job
Solid wood, domestically grown interior doors and trim
Locally produced Vinlytek windows
Location: Bellevue, WA Star Level: 5-Star, Net Zero Energy Label Checklist: Single Family/Townhome New Construction Verifier: Ecoe Company
Site and Water: 109 Energy Efficiency: 239 Health and Indoor Air Quality: 126 Materials Efficiency: 109 Total Score: 629
The TC Legend Family is growing! We have hired two new Carpenters and two new Draftsman trainees! Big welcome to Miles, Lee, Talia & Amber! Check out ‘Our Team’ to learn more about them.
We are always excited to grow our team and hire on other passionate individuals who aim to create a carbon neutral future and affordable housing!
The Bellingham Barn House is coming to an exciting end, and it was a great opportunity to get Senna and Talia out of the office and on-site! (And finally get some headshots of our new crew!)
Talia, our first TC Draftsman Intern, got to get her hands on the house plans and review her first TC Legend Home in action.
Here’s what Talia learned and noticed about this exquisite home:
“Visiting the Bellingham Barn House site was a great way to see the paper plans come to life in a real home. It was fascinating to see HVAC and water heating setup in person as well as all the design details that the on site crew carefully constructed.
I was particularly excited to see the positioning of the stairs in the middle of the house, serving as a visual and physical separation of the upstairs while keeping a cohesive design and smooth flow of traffic throughout the house.
It was also great to meet the crew and chat about the solar system with Jeff. I walked away having learned and seen a number of new things and I am really excited to be a member of this team!”
Talia has always been interested in building design, architecture, the environment, and renewable energy. When she had the opportunity to combine those interests in the form of an undergraduate course called Energy Efficient and Carbon Neutral Design, she jumped at the chance. After that course, she caught the net zero building bug.
Talia will be graduating in June, 2021 from Western Washington University. One of the incredible things that she did in her undergraduate studies that impressed the TC owners was her participation in an extracurricular competition, the DOE Solar Decathlon, where she designed a functional Net Zero Home for the Tri-cities.
“I’m excited to be making an impact on people’s lives and our environment through designing comfortable, affordable, and efficient homes as a member of the TC Legend Homes team!”
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