Oregon Home | 47 Thinking Ahead: GREEN FEATURES AIR QUALITY Airtight enclosures, a super-insulated envelope and triple-pane windows all contributed to the home achieving Earth Advantage Platinum + Zero Energy certification. “When the house is closed up, we can’t even hear our neighbor’s music. It's so quiet,” Lauren says. SOLAR A Silfab 9.6kw solar array positioned for maximum efficiency ensures that the home operates as close as possible to Net-Zero energy. WATER Green Hammer incorporated into the design a rainwater filtration system by Conservation Technology, including a 9,000-gallon cistern, which satisfies 100% of the home’s annual potable water needs through rainwater harvesting, on-site water filtration, low-flow fixtures and rightsized plumbing design. MATERIALS Construction materials such as cedar-plank siding on the exterior and wood used throughout the house come from Forest Stewardship Council-certified trees, which are from responsibly managed forests. EARTHQUAKE READINESS Construction methods should help the home withstand possible earthquakes in the Willamette Valley over time. For the outside spaces, Melissa Medeiros of LANDline Design worked with the couple to develop their landscaping based on the microclimates existing in the different zones of the garden. They focused on planting drought-tolerant and native species like madrone, native grasses, strawberry trees, ferns and kinnikinnick. The couple lost 150 plants during one of the state’s epic heat waves but has continued to work with the developer to dial in the garden spaces for the long term. “It’s a trial,” says Kate. “You think you know how things are going to grow, but it’s a really dynamic process.” Now that they are settling into their life in the home, they are noticing which spaces feel the best to them. Kate loves the bedroom, a smaller space with just enough room for a bed and two end tables. Lauren appreciates the tech and has been enjoying monitoring the air quality in the home through an app called PurpleAir. The Yeisers have since become something like neighborhood ambassadors in their community. Especially when the home first went up, people walking by stopped to ask about it and its systems, and some even came in for a look around. “Living here, charging our energy off the sun, I feel a sense of ease and peace that I haven’t felt before,” Kate says. greenhammer.com
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