Sitting on a stunning 5-acre lot nestled into the woods and surrounded by wildflowers and berries, the Samish Solar Home is a resilient oasis for a growing family of mountain bikers and nature enthusiasts.

This 4 bedroom, 3.5 bath, 2,345 square foot single family residence was built for a young family in Bellingham, Washington. The primary goal of this home was to serve as the owner’s permanent residence, even as their needs change over time, while adding a layer of resiliency towards our changing climate. The home was designed to support a growing family, temporary or permanent aging parents, a home office, and ample storage for outdoor recreation gear in the 1,936 square foot garage. Samish Solar home also features an additional sunroom on the south side of the house to enjoy the sunshine year-round.

The home is built using a post and beam structural system in addition to structural insulated panel (SIP) exterior walls and roof. The double-height, vaulted ceilings in the living room provide excellent daylighting for current use, but a floor system and internal walls could be added in the future to transform this 4-bedroom home into a 5- or 6-bedroom home.

Sustainable Envelope & Mechanical Details

Working in conjunction with the graphite infused SIP walls and roof (R-29 and R-59 respectively), triple pane Vinyltek windows, an R-20 insulated slab-on-grade foundation and R-23.6 ICF foundation walls help complete the envelope of Samish Solar Home. Due to the sandwich design of SIPs, the envelope of the project started out very airtight, however in order to push the tightness even further and achieve an ACH of 0.27, Aerobarrier aerosol sealant was used to complete the air sealing. This project also features the tried-and-true TC Legend Homes HVAC model combining a Chiltrix CX-34, Fantech Hero 250, and rooftop solar. The CX-34 heat pump unit provides both domestic hot water and space heating/cooling through a zoned radiant hydronic system on the first floor and a fan coil unit on the second. These superior insulated materials coupled with our HVAC system and tight envelope create this high efficiency and high-performance home.

Climate Change Resiliency

With significant south facing windows and shading eaves, this home takes advantage of passive solar heating and cooling, which will help regulate the home’s temperature as summer and winter temps become more extreme. The triple pane, argon-filled windows also help to create a better barrier to the extreme outdoor temperatures. Since the roof will take the brunt of the solar heat, Cool Roof certified metal sheeting was installed to further prevent the home from overheating in the summer by increasing the albedo. The Fantech Hero 250 HRV provides the home with a constant flow of fresh air filtered through its built in HEPA filtration. This home maintains healthy indoor air quality even at the height of wildfire season, providing a safe haven for its occupants, friends, and family. The biggest resiliency feature of this home is the 28,000 gallon rainwater catchment system that supplies water for the fire suppression system and domestic water. The rainwater is filtered through a sediment filter, activated carbon filter, and UV filter to ensure it is fit for domestic use. The catchment system, which was required due to site water availability limitations, was significantly upsized in order to add resiliency. With the understanding that significant periods of drought are likely in the future, the larger catchment system will ensure adequate domestic water for the home and provide self-sufficiency in the future. Low-flow and water sense labeled plumbing fixtures also help to reduce water demands. The homeowners also opted to upsize the rooftop solar array to a 10.8kw system with Enphase microinverters. The solar system is battery ready for future resiliency additions and provides the home with more power than it needs, making the project net positive and allowing the owners to power an electric vehicle in the future. There is also plenty of roof area where additional solar could be installed if energy needs of the home change in the future.

Accessibility

In designing this home, it was important to the client that we future proof for aging parents who may need to utilize mobility aids and to ensure they, themselves, can grow old in the home. This meant designing with the essential spaces, such as the laundry room and kitchen, located on the first floor. All of the doorways were also widened to 3’ and the first-floor shower was made curbless to help ensure this home is functional in all phases of the owners’ lives. The unheated breezeway between the house and garage provides a central, stepless entry point and protection from the elements. This space also serves as a shoe removal area with a built-in bench and coat storage. At both the main entry and side entry, a stepless large, covered patio was installed, which can serve as a fantastic gathering area for everyone without any limitations. Lastly, in a less conventional form of accessibility, Powerhouse Designs will be adding Samish Solar Home’s premade plans to their website so others can build this home with a lower upfront design cost.

Author: Sonja O'Claire, Built Green Program Manager

In the shadow of a mature tree canopy, Model Remodel’s contemporary home combines Northwest living with Mediterranean pattern and colors. This Built Green 4-Star certified home recently was awarded a 2023 REX Award for Green Remodel. The 1950s home was fully remodeled, including a 2nd story addition for a primary suite. Integration of indoor spaces with the natural environment was a key element to its redesign. The open floor plan with generous windows and glass doors creates a front-to-back view through the entire home, and easy access to its extensive outdoor activity spaces. Abundant with natural light and worldly décor, this playful remodel of a classic midcentury modern property made air sealing, eco-conscious materials, and green certification a priority.

Achieving an improvement of 29.3% over Washington’s 2015 energy code, an airtightness blower door score of 2.94 ACH, and a 4-Star Built Green rating, the home is comfortable all year round. The ductless multi split system in the bedrooms provides efficient heating and cooling using ceiling mounted cassettes, making it so you hardly know the system is there. A combination of rigid foam board and caulked foam were used to achieve such an airtight tight seal of the older home. Spot ERVs provide fresh air, while recovering temperature and moisture. A centrally located ducted system provides optimal comfort in the vaulted-ceiling open floorplan of the home. In-floor heat radiant heat in the bathroom floor tile offer additional comfort.

Above-code fiberglass windows and doors provide tons of natural light, eliminating the need for electrical lighting during daytime hours. LED lighting is used at night. A beautiful nano door and pocket window in the kitchen can be easily opened for an indoor-outdoor living environment. Low-VOC finishes on the flooring and shelving, plus no-VOC interior paint, keep air quality excellent.

Increasing the functionality of the home’s existing living space two rooms were redesigned into flexible multifunctional spaces. One area has a built-in murphy bed that can be pulled down for overnight guests, and another room features a sliding partition wall that can separate one room into two functional spaces.

One of the most obvious décor choices in the home is the Mediterranean-style patterned tile, which was salvaged from previous jobs and used here for multiple backsplashes and bathrooms. Cork flooring was used in multifunctional rooms to enhance comfort and warmth. It’s the patterned tile and flooring that bring color and vibrancy to a neutral paint palette. Lighting, cabinet hardware and décor are all sourced from the homeowners’ worldly travels, giving the home unique personality. Large 55 foot glulam beams effortlessly transition between indoor and outdoor evoking the tall trees on the property. Additionally, reusing the existing concrete foundation and basement, and fireplace, preserved and reduced embodied carbon emissions that would have been emitted had the home been torn down, rather than remodeled. A recycled content metal roof protects this home for the next century of its lifecycle.

Before/In Progress

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