2018 Year in Review

2018 Year in Review

by | Jan 15, 2019 | Uncategorized

Here at TC Legend Homes, we are excited to ring in the New Year! We kept busy in 2018, but we were not as active as we would have liked in keeping our “fans” updated on our recent projects. So, while we’re committing ourselves to doing better in the future, this post is an attempt at bringing everyone up to speed on some of the happenings of 2018 in a (relatively) short summary:

Homes:

  • One home completion (started in 2017) in Seattle.

  • Four complete home builds; two in Bellingham, one in Redmond, and one in North Bend.

  • Construction initiation on two ADUs; one in Sumas, and one in Bellingham.

  • All projects were Built Green 5-Star Certified, EPA Indoor airPLUS certified, and met DOE standards as Zero-Energy Ready Homes.

Events:

  • Ted presented at the Built Green Conference 2018 in Seattle. He shared the podium with homeowners Andri Kofmehl and Veena Prasad. Their topic, Bridging Innovation and Affordability: How to Build the Greenest House Possible Without Compromising on Aesthetics or Breaking the Bank, featured our 2017 Emerald Star home. More details on this can be found at this link to our portfolio.

  • Craig and Thad did a little San Diego couch surfing to attend a Builder’s Round Table, composed entirely of 2018 Department of Energy Housing Innovation Award Winners, where we learned a little about the future of high-performance building.

  • We participated in the Whatcom County Showcase of Homes, featuring the second home shown above – a great example of an affordable net-positive home in Bellingham. You can also read more about it in our portfolio.

  • Ted and Thad spoke at the Northwest EcoBuilding Guild’s annual Green Building Slam about how building net-positive can actually make it easier to afford more home while preserving quality of life.

  • We “expanded” our business operations into a SIPs Tiny Office (above).

  • Ted wrapped up his speaking engagements in December, at the Sustainable Connections Green Building Slam, with a talk about why we need to embrace sustainable building – because Our Kids are Going to Need a Place to Live.

Accolades:

Eliminating Utilities: Building residences with zero utility bills at hard-to-beat prices has the potential to change how homes are powered.

Eliminating Utilities: Building residences with zero utility bills at hard-to-beat prices has the potential to change how homes are powered.

by | Jan 10, 2016 | Uncategorized

The Planet Magazine, a quarterly publication of Western Washington University, just published an excellent article about our role in what we hope will be a zero-energy revolution in homebuilding. Thanks to student reporter Alyssa Sanchez for her thoughtful exploration of passive solar design, mechanical equipment, and the other elements that go into net-zero design. 

 Photo by: Kesia Lee

Ted W. Clifton, dressed in a paint-stained T-shirt and sporting a long beard, enters the Power House, a home that is the first of its kind in Whatcom County. The home is brightly lit by the last of the afternoon rays beaming through the large, south-facing windows. The azure-blue cement floors trap the solar heat, keeping the house at a comfortable 21 degrees Celsius. At first glance, this house might appear like any other on the street, but this home may make utility bills a thing of the past.

Take a Virtual Tour of Our Zero-Energy Homes

Take a Virtual Tour of Our Zero-Energy Homes

by | Dec 30, 2015 | Uncategorized

Through its Zero Energy Ready Homes initiative, the U.S. Department of Energy has been busy documenting homes that live, work, and last better. They’ve put together a great web resource with such homes all over the country. TC Legend Homes is well represented, with four such “homes of the future” in the Marine climate zone, three of which were Housing Innovation Award winners.

Check out the full tour or click on the links below to take a virtual tour of homes that are so energy efficient a renewable energy system can offset all or most of their annual energy consumption. These award-winning homes are independently certified to meet DOE Zero Energy Ready Home guidelines. Zero Energy Ready Home is part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings initiative. Better Buildings aims to make commercial, industrial, public, and residential buildings 20 percent more energy efficient over the next decade.

Department of Energy Case Studies

Ballard Zero-Energy Home
Cedarwood Zero-Energy Home
Montlake Modern
Bellingham Power House