PRESCOTT, Ariz. (AP) — Tony Grahame gets a kick out of pushing environmentally friendly home design to the limits — testing what works and discarding what doesn’t to make everything fit into a tidy model.
Tony Grahame, director of Yavapai College's Residential Building Technology Program in Prescott, Ariz., walks into Arizona's first true "zero-net energy" home Saturday, May 23, 2009, in Chino Valley. Robert Bolding, owner of a Prescott-based home inspection company, at right, follows Grahame inside. (AP Photo/The Daily Courier, Doug Cook)
As the director of Yavapai College’s Residential Building Technology Program, Grahame also enjoys teaching folks how to build energy-efficient homes from the latest high-tech construction materials available on the market.
On May 23 in Chino Valley, Grahame shared with the public Arizona’s, the college’s and Habitat for Humanity’s first true, certified “zero-net energy” house, a grid-tied residence that generates all the power it uses on-site.
The modest 1,200-square-foot home in northeast Chino sits on a concrete slab insulated with Styrofoam.
“That’s so important because 30 to 50 percent of your heat is lost in the heating season if you have an uninsulated concrete slab,” Grahame said.
In addition, two inches of rigid foam rests on the inside of the walls to offer a good thermal break so the sun’s heat can’t penetrate the house.
“On a summer afternoon, when the sun’s going down on the west side, if you have stucco on the exterior the sun wants to heat up that siding,” Grahame said. “The rigid foam basically reduces heat transfer.”
The house also relies primarily on solar energy and gives slightly more back to the grid than it takes away.
It’s like stepping inside a time machine to see what “green” living will be all about in the future.
Grahame said he and others at the college have labored on the zero-net energy home concept for the past five years.
Although it costs 3 to 5 percent more to build a zero-net energy “green” home, the return in energy savings compensates for the additional dollars spent.
“With every house that we build, it’s always about questioning what worked, what didn’t work and where do we need to be,” Grahame said. “We’re always incorporating new, appropriate technology, materials and systems. It’s all been an evolution.”
Tony Grahame, director of Yavapai College's Residential Building Technology Program in Prescott, Ariz., stands next to a photovoltaic solar panel used to power Arizona's first true "zero-net energy" home Saturday, May 23, 2009, in Chino Valley, Ariz. The house generates all the power it uses on-site. (AP Photo/The Daily Courier, Doug Cook)
Among other things, the home features a water-managed foundation, an airtight frame, high-performance windows, a heat pump, balanced fresh-air ventilation, a solar-powered hot water heater, photovoltaic panels and Energy Star appliances and lighting.
“The idea is to share information and set a model people can emulate,” Grahame said. “You can buy all these products locally.”
Robert Bolding, owner of a Prescott-based home inspection company who works as a volunteer building Habitat homes, said he came to see the house because he would like to understand how these types of residences are put together in case he has to inspect one.
He doubles as a general contractor, too, and wants to know whether building a “green” home is worth the investment.
“I think this technology is moving from the East Coast to the West Coast,” Bolding said. “Arizona residents may not be using as much solar energy as they could be because electricity is a lot cheaper here.”
What one may not know is that the Residential Building Technology program at Yavapai College has existed for the past 30 years. It teaches students how to design, manage and build homes with a sustainable design incorporating “green” building practices.
Essentially, a sustainable home has a building envelope with the optimum amount of installation put in properly, airtight barriers for strong indoor air quality, and the right kind of windows that are oriented well in relationship to the sun.
“The objective is always to design and build a house that will use the least amount of energy,” Grahame said. “This is all about making a difference in the world around us.”
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Information from: The Daily Courier, http://www.dcourier.com
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
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