Menzies Residence
Highlands 16 Eden, UT 84310
LEED Approach
July 2011
What is LEED (Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design)?
• Developed by US Green Building Council
– Non profit building industry group
• Promotes a whole building approach to
sustainability by recognizing performance
in 8 areas.
• Metrics (point system) in these 8 areas are
used to measure and drive sustainable
building practices
The LEED TEAM
• This LEED Project was a Team effort between
Homeowners, Ray Bertoldi Architects, Big
Canyon Homes, Inc the builder, helped by our
LEED representatives Nexant and G-Build
– At kick-off we held a Design Charrette to discuss all
design and building options, and included local
builders experience in the design.
– We received support from Wolf Creek Resort and
Highlands HOA on the planning aspects
• Solar panels, geothermal trench design
Aim is to design and build home that is;
•Healthier
•More Comfortable
•More Energy Efficient
•More Durable
Why Build a Sustainable House ?
General
• Homes have a considerable environmental impact (LEED for
Homes Ref Guide)
– According to US DoE – residential sector consumes 22% of energy
and 7% of water
– Contributes to 21% of US carbon emissions
– Indoor pollutants are typically 4-5X higher than outside
• Let’s reduce environmental footprint of residential houses!!
Homeowners
• The owners had never built house before, and wanted a
practical sustainable house with low utility bills
• Wanted a house that fit into the neighborhood
• LEED certification set the challenge of an objective set of
criteria that measure success
• We aimed for the highest levels – Gold or Platinum
Motivation for Building Sustainable House (cont)
Builder – Big Canyon Homes, Inc
• More people are starting to request green features
• This is the way of the future and Big Canyon are striving to
build a competitive advantage in this market
• These clients were willing to evaluate and use new
technologies and different building techniques
Architect – Ray Bertoldi and Associates
• Bertoldi Architects endeavors to make our buildings and
cities better places to live. We strive to incorporate
sustainable techniques, while respecting the limits of site,
budget and locality. These strategies include passive and
active solar, ground-source heating and cooling, low
embodied-energy and recycled materials, xeriscape
landscape design and healthy interior environments.
The Project’s Sustainable Features
The design was computer modeled to evaluate the payoff of potential approaches. We have
the following features:
• Heavy Insulation (for the Energy and Atmosphere LEED section)
– Stop air infiltration and drafts to create comfort and warmth, reduces heat loss, and
provides biggest bang for the buck
– We modeled the water vapor movement in the wall sections to check for long term
performance
• The house is oriented for passive solar gain in winter (and for the wonderful views)
• We selected cost effective windows selected
– Low E glass with additional coating on inside of double paned units
• Geothermal Heating and Cooling – looks like a standard furnace but . . .
– Takes heat out of ground in winter and returns it in summer a/c/ season
– Lots of cobbles and boulders made installation of horizontal ground loop in a pit
practical, and less expensive
– The system gives us high efficiency, the unit typically extract 4X the amount of energy
that it takes to run, extracting the solar energy that is stored in the ground
– It also preheats domestic water
– Computer modeling shows that payback period after tax rebates is ~ 3-6 yrs compared
to natural gas and much shorter compared to propane
•
Overall we got a HERS rating of 24 – we use about 24% of the energy of a “typical” house
Sustainable Features (cont)
• Solar – (Photovoltaic Panels)
– Our panels generate enough electricity to run the
geothermal units and other electrical appliances
– We use grid-tie and net-metering not batteries
• Outdoor water (for the Water Efficiency LEED section)
– Rain and snow melt are directed to dry wells, to benefit
our plants and trees
– We have no lawn, and drought tolerant plants
• Indoor Design (for the Materials and Resources and Indoor
Air Quality LEED sections)
– Renewable resources such as bamboo floor (harder than
most wood floors),
– All paints, adhesives etc low volatiles – low odor
– Ventilation system
• Heat and water vapor recovery systems