Project Gallery

Energy Efficient Home Earns High Built Green Rating

Summary

The Seattle homeowners asked their builder Sunshine Construction to make their home ultra-green.

Description

Sunshine Construction salvaged many of the original structure’s parts to reconstruct this new 1,800-square-foot home and attached 650-square-foot apartment near the University of Washington. The home’s energy-efficient shell features 9-inch-thick double-framed walls, tripled-glazed windows, a solar water collector on the roof and a 1-foot-thick insulated roof. Insulation in the walls is made of recycled newspapers, and the roof insulation is constructed of structural insulated panels (SIPs). The result is a home that has earned both Energy Star and a platinum Engineered for Life certification in addition to the highest Built Green rating. This extraordinary home also fits in with its surroundings in an older Seattle neighborhood, even though its green features provide maximum savings in energy use, materials, site development and indoor air quality.