The first LEED for houses (LEED-H) project in the Northwest to achieve a Silver rating was the 2,000 square foot Kelly-Woodford Home in Parkdale, Oregon.
The house was built by the Neil Kelly Company, a Portland area builder. The company has been a leader in environmentally oriented construction for a number of years. They were also the builders (and owners) of the first LEED certified building in the Northwest, which happened to be the company’s own showroom.
The house is meant to be a family retreat for Tom Kelly, president of the Neil Kelly Company, and his wife, but it will also be made available to employees of Neil Kelly Company for half the year. The home was an opportunity for the company to showcase a number of green building strategies. Some steps may have been more extreme than what another client would have chosen, but it gave the company an opportunity to learn about a number of green building approaches.
Cabinets and countertops used a number of green materials and products, including Kirei Board (a board made from sorghum stalks), recycled wood from 100 year-old vinegar vats, Ice Stone countertops (which contain 75 percent recycled glass) and Paper Stone countertops (which contain recycled paper). Other finishes and paints were low- or no-VOC or completely non-toxic. Much of the lumber used was FSC certified, and some came from hundred-year-old sunken logs harvested from the bottom of the Columbia River.
“It is a “net-zero energy use” home, meaning over the course of a year, its photovoltaic panels will track the sun and are projected to generate more electricity than the home will consume. The panels will generate power every day, but in winter, its power mix will rely more on the local utility; in summer it will generate and return excess power to the grid.” -Earth Advantage
The house is designed to capitalize on passive solar heating. This feature also orients it for views of nearby Mount Hood. Additional heating is provided with in-floor radiant heat in the concrete slab floors. The roof uses structural insulated panels (SIPs) which are extremely efficient. The house is also Energy-Star certified, with high-efficiency appliances throughout.The Neil Kelly Company’s website has a gallery of photographs with many more pictures of the house.
via: Jetson Green, Earth Advantage, and Hood River News
