21st Post – Our Windows are Here!

Our inside doors are finished.  Merle did a fabulous job!  We just put them in the garage on Monday and our window supplier called, she told us that our windows have arrived and we would have to store them.  Remember we ordered our windows early to come in under an increase from Serious Windows.  OK, now we have inside doors, windows, tile and wood to make the cabinets.  Now, if we only had a house! HA, HA!  
You can see the window information at  http://www.seriouswindows.com/lowes/SuspendedCoatedFilm.pdf

I asked Ted, our designer, if I could share the email he wrote to the city about their concerns with us not utilizing a conventional HVAC/heating system.  Here is what he wrote:

• Mrs. Kugler asked that I e-mail you some information about the heating system for their house.  I realize that the numbers are unexpected, i.e., the R-values for the insulation are very high and the BTUH values for the heat load are very low.  I hope I can reassure you:  
• I have been designing and building superinsulated houses here in Oregon for 20 years.  I am used to low heat load numbers.  My first house (in McMinnville) was heated for $95.40 for the first year.  Our current house is 18 years old.  So far this heating season we have spent $150 for heat.
• The Passivhaus Institute in Germany has gone beyond what I have been doing.  They have reduced superinsulated design and building to a science. Over 15,000 Passive Houses have been built in Europe, all according to the Institute's formula.  I have designed the Kugler house according to the Passive House standards.  With R-values of R-87 for the ceiling, R-60 for the walls, and R-60 for the foundation we have exceeded the R-values required for the Willamette Valley.  The German requirement for heat load is 3.17 BTUH/sq. ft.  The Kugler house at 1.940 sq. ft. will require 6,150 BTUH at peak load.  We have three heating zones, each with a 3,412 BTUH inline duct heater.  This totals 10,236 BTUH, so we have a heating system that is oversized by 66%.
• The passive solar component should not be overlooked.  My houses usually gain four degrees on a sunny day.
• And now for the ace up the sleeve.  The pellet stove can put out 40,000 BTUH.  This is almost seven times the heat required.  

I hope this reassures you that the Kugler family will not be cold in this Passive House.  Please contact me if you have any questions.

Thanks,
Ted Nickell

Go Ted! 

I also wanted to let people know that Tad Everhart, NW Passivhaus consultant, will be on Oprah today 4/22/10 talking about passive houses.  He retrofitted his home in Portland to be a passive house.

Ok, so where are we at with the construction and start time of our home?  We are going to have a meeting with all the subs next week.  Plus have PGE come out to identify where our lines are to be placed.  We will also have the survey done so the bulldozer can move dirt.  Ok, if nothing else comes up our start date will be May 7^rd.

Be Blue – Protect our sky – If you in the market for a new roof order a light colored one.  Think of it this way, if you wear dark colors in the summer time your body is hotter.  This is the same way with your home.  The sun heats up your dark roof and stays hotter longer and then the heat comes into your home and if you have air conditioning you will use more power.  The air around your house is heated and then that helps heat our planet.  The effects do not stop there.   The air conditioner uses more electricity from companies and they will have to produce more, causing pollution and green house gases heating up the earth even more.  Double whammy!

20th Post – Our Plans are Approved!

We had to wait until the city decided that it was OK to not have a conventional HVAC system.  Oh and we didn’t see that one coming!  But the city has been very good to work with all the plans.  It just took a little explaining about the process of PH, so Ted sent them an email to help clarify things.

We also have to decide on who is going to make our cabinets out of our White Oak.  They will need to dry out some more and be sanded down to workable sizes.  So they will need to start soon.

Our doors are being finished by Merle Thomas.  He is a professional finisher that chinks and stains log homes and other wood products.  He is great and I highly recommend him.  Merle’ s number is 971-235-5626; tell him you read it on my blog.

Be Blue – Protect our sky – Have you started your garden?  You can plant: spinach, peas, chard, carrots, lettuce, radishes.  If you have never done it before start with peas they are very easy.

19th Post – The giving tree - Our White Oak!

Remember the picture of the wood from our 220 White Oak?  Well the saplings were growing all around our yard.  We had eight White Oak trees, some up to seven feet tall.  We did not want them to be harmed or destroyed by our remodel so our daughter’s AP Environmental Science Class from West Linn came and dug them out.  They are transplanting them to a new location where the instructor is coordinating the revitalization of a natural area.  There our White Oak saplings may grow to 220 years or more.

This was taken five years ago.

Be Blue – Protect our sky – Plant a tree in your yard or go online to www.goevergreen.org/ for more information