Tubes!

The tubes are conduit runs through the foundation.  This is a photo of the concrete forms.  Concrete will be poured into the forms to create the foundation walls.  The tubes provide a chase for things to be run up into the unit – wires, pipes, etc.

Seems like a lot of tubes, right?  We have a lot going on in these units – regular stuff like water pipes and electricity, but in our case ground source piping, extra wires for the solar panels…and who knows what else?  So we have a lot of tubes.

zHome retaining wall under construction

One of the zHome materials benchmarks is for all concrete to include 30 percent flyash by volume.  This is an aggressive percentage, reflecting the nature of zHome’s pushing the envelope. 

Flyash is the byproduct from coal burning power plants.  Flyash is a recycled material that reduces the need for cement.  Another benefit to using flyash beyond simply reducing material use is that the production of cement produces a significant amount of CO2 – so using less is good.

High flyash concrete is different than typical cement.  It is stickier and harder to form and work.  It takes longer to cure, which particularly in structural situations can mess with your timeline.  On the upside, in addition to its environmental benefits, it has less voids than typical concrete (the flyash is like little ball bearings and helps the concrete flow) and is stronger once fully cured. 

Closeup of 30% flyash wall - almost void free.

Centralia power plant, source of our flyash

An interesting sidenote is that flyash locally has historically come from the Centralia power plant.  However, during the boom times, local demand for flyash resulted in it being brought in by rail from Alberta, which created its own carbon issues.  Now, with construction significantly reduced, we are back to Centralia flyash being easily available.

This home, which will be the Shirey’s personal residence, is exactly what it says it is – it provides ideas to the building and home buying audiences for advanced energy saving technologies which are part of a potential zero energy strategy.  It includes such advanced technologies as structural insulated panels, (R-24 walls, R-40 roof), solar hot water heating, LED lighting, a reverse chiller for heating, a helical wind turbine, and a 2.5 kwh photovoltaic panel array.  The combination of all these technologies will most certainly help the house get much of the way to zero net energy usage – resulting in one of the most advanced homes built regionally to date from an energy standpoint.  The WSU Energy Program projects the home will have net energy bills of about $500 a year, quite an achievement.  I suspect given how green the Shirey’s are, they are likely to do even better than this in actual usage.

Installing the structural insulated panels

As wholistic green builders, the Shireys have also included a number of other cutting edge green components.  Extensive green roofs and native landscaping will help reduce the roof rainwater runoff.  A 3,000 gallon rainwater cistern provides irrigation.  Lots of neat green materials, like FSC floors, recycled plate glass counters, and concrete countertops show green homes can be incredibly beautiful.

I have had the pleasure of knowing the Shireys for a number of years.  They own and run Shirey Contracting, located here in Issaquah, WA.  They are true green building pioneers, and were some of the first builders regionally to draw the important connection between building and sustainability.  They have been builders for several decades and were early users of structural insulated panels, which can result in tight, energy efficient walls and quick construction timelines.  Donna was instrumental in starting Built Green, the green building program for King and Snohomish Counties.  In addition to the Idea House, the Shireys are also building a home in Florida which will be LEED platinum – two truly cutting edge homes.

A great 13 minute educational video of the home was made by King County GreenTools – don’t miss it.  Also, the Zero Energy Idea House will be open Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Nov. 8 for self guided tours.  It is most definitely worth checking out – it is a truly inspiring home.