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Garbett Homes is building something, new, modern and green in Utah’s Daybreak community.
While spec home are just that, spec homes and typically built en masse in communities where everything looks the same, it is always refreshing to see when someone breaks the mold and does something a little differently now and then. Garbett Homes is doing just that in Utah and I love the change.
In the Southwest corner of Salt Lake County a not so little community called Daybreak has sprung up in the area where the old Kennecott Copper evaporation ponds used to be located and were subsequently cleaned up several years ago. (Click HERE for a PDF document from the EPA on this remediation) Daybreak is a community built around green living, close neighborhoods and Energy Star Certified homes, it takes an area where pollution was a problem and makes it a testament to the change that can happen. A light rail line is even being built to the community (someday…) so that residents can move easily to the heart of Salt Lake City and give those who work there an affordable opportunity for green living outside of the locales they would typically consider closer in. The concept is wonderful! However, until that light rail line is built it is a long way from being green when it comes to proximity to services and the current traffic situation.
In it’s short history the Daybreak style of home has leaned toward late 1800′s and early 1900′s styling where craftsman and Victorian homes were the norm. Something new has now come online from Garbett Homes and it is called the Solaris Collection.
What sets these homes apart is that they are in a modern design and a wide and welcome contrast to the the typical Daybreak craftsman redux. Actually, it is exciting! Very Exciting! Now if they could intersperse them amongst the other styles a little more, so it doesn’t just end up as another overabundance of homes that all look the same.
Some other noteable information on these homes is the materials that they are using here as well. From Hardi Board on the exterior, solar included in the price and r38 insulation in the ceilings, they are also making good strides in green building and energy efficiency with these homes. That and the base price is $206,000! Please note that I did not say GREAT green strides. These homes are Energy Star rated so please take that for what it is worth. It is a start and not the top.
Photos of the homes can be seen on the Garbett Website and through posts over at Grassroots Modern and Jetson Green. Once I have a chance to head out that way I will share some of my own photos and tell you more about the homes and my impressions.
Living Green in 9th and 9th. – 1048 S. Lake, 84105
UPDATE: A Home Energy Rating was recently conducted on this home and it came back with a HERS score of 55! Click here to learn more about what a HERS rating means.
Living green in the city is not always easy to do when the inventory of green homes is as small as it is. Well, your opportunity to live green, while enjoying the convenience of one of Salt Lake City’s most walkable neighborhoods, is here with this home at 1048 S. Lake Street.
Designed by A. K. Smith Architects this home was built with the environment in Mind. With an exterior of Structural Integrated Panels (SIPS) this home is already 65% more energy efficient than standard frame construction and 2 1/2 times stronger! But the exterior is only the beginning, an emphasis on green living was made throughout this home with everything from home automation systems to carpet made from soy and corn oil.
So what makes this home so green?
-ICF Foundation and Insulated Slab: An insulated concrete foundation excludes the interior of the home from the temperature fluctuations of the outside world. The slab maintains ambient temperature of Earth, 55°.
-Radon Gas Removal System: Ensures healthy air and proper vetilation to the outside.
-SIPS Panel Construction: With the walls and roof made up entirely of SIPS Panels this foam features strong walls with an R40 insulation value. The ceilings, being twelve inches thick have an R80 insulating Value.
-Solar: This home has been built with passive solar features to reduce heat gain in the summer and optimize sunlight in the winter. Natural daylighting is featured with optimal window placement, skylights and unique translucent panels in the upstairs hall that allow daylight to move between floors. To top this all off the home has been built with the future in mind and is ready now for your future active solar needs.
-Radiant Heating: Powered by a tankless water heater, the highly efficient , 3 zone radiant heating system will not only heat the home, but your hot water. A highly efficient secondary forced air system will take the chill off of the second floor on those super cold winter nights, but the open stairs and living area will allow the radiant and fireplace heat to rise throughout the home on most nights, without the need of the forced air system.
-Pella High Performance Windows and Doors: These ultra efficient windows protect you and your home from extreme heat and cold along with blocking UV rays.
-Low Flow Water Fixtures an High Efficiency Hallogen and CFL Lighting.
-Interior Finishes: With no or low VOC finishes throughout this home you know that the air you breath is free of harmful compounds. The Timbercreek cabinetry is custom made of bamboo and feature Blum softclose hardware, the kitchen counters are IceStone and made up of 70% recycled glass and the clear glass backsplashes are also recycled. The Mohawk Carpet throught the home has been manufactured from Soybean and Corn sugars and is 100% recyclable.
-Home Automation: Control everything from the fireplace to the thermostats with your Control4 Home Automation System. Not only is this extreme convenience it is also energy efficient. Wouldn’t be cool if you could control everything in your home with your iPhone? Well, you can with this home.
Control4 uses dimmers, timers and occupancy sensors to reduce energy waste. A typical 3-bedroom home with a Control4 system will eliminate over 850 pounds of CO2 emissions each year. That’s like not driving a car for a month! Control4 also lets you control the amount of wattage used by light bulbs, which not only saves electricity and reduces energy bills but extends the life of bulbs as well.
Appliances: In your kitchen you will find highly efficient Bosch Appliances with an EcoSense Dishwasher and Energy Star rated refrigerator along with a Bosch gas cooktop and Bosch Convection Oven.
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1048 S. Lake Street
Salt Lake City, UT 84105
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The sun shines brightly and the wind blows on the stimulus package.
There is a silver lining to every cloud and from the reports I have been reading, the stimulus package is a big dark cloud. So where is the silver lining? Well, let’s look at the green lining as laid out in this Cnet article.
Overall, there is $50 billion for energy programs, much of it focused on energy efficiency and renewable energy, and $20 billion in tax incentives for renewable energy and efficiency, according to a conference report released by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office (click for PDF) and an Associated Press analysis. Provisions include:
- $5 billion to weatherize homes of up to 1 million low-income people.
- $11 billion toward smart-grid technologies to run the power grid more efficiently.
- $13.9 billion in loans to subsidize renewable-energy projects and transmission.
- $6.3 billion in state energy-efficient and clean-energy grants.
- $4.5 billion to make federal buildings more energy efficient.
There is $2 billion for advanced battery manufacturing and over $2 billion for carbon capture and storage demonstration projects, according to a Wall Street Journal comparison of the House and Senate versions.
The bill has $400 million in spending to create the Advanced Research Project Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) “to support high-risk, high-payoff research into energy sources and energy efficiency in collaboration with industry,” according to Pelosi’s office.
In transportation, there is $8.4 billion for mass transit and $8 billion for construction of high-speed railways.
When it comes to you and I as consumers and homeowners, there is even more good news:
For us there is even more incentive to invest in renewable energy and a tax credit of up to $7500 for energy efficient vehicles.
The $2,000 cap for the 30% solar hot water credit has been lifted and the $4,000 cap has been lifted for wind energy investment.
And, very exciting news is out there if you are renovating an existing home:
To retrofit existing homes to be more efficient, the bill extends and expands tax credits for purchase “such as new furnaces, energy-efficient windows and doors, or insulation,” according to the committee report. The House and Senate versions extended these credits to 2010 and increased the level to 30 percent with a cap of $1,500 on combined purchases, according to Environment and Energy Daily (subscription required
So see, Whether you are Republican or Democrat and have hope or no hope at all, you can’t help but see this silver green lining.
Blu Homes have officially launched and they are on their way to Utah and Massachusetts.
I have had the wonderful opportunity to work with one of the founders of Blu Homes as they scouted locations and scoured the country finding the city with right fit for their innovative, new, prefab homes. Happily, they chose Salt Lake City, Utah (my home state) as one of the first locations in which to build, the rest of the country is not far behind. Not only that, the first home should be delivered and completed by late fall here in Utah and a personal walk-through for interested parties will be a reality.
What Blu Homes is building is a very innovative, prefab home that will be manufactured in 4 weeks and the keys will be in your hands within 10 days of the home being delivered to your lot. How is that for fast and convenient?
Blu Homes will be green. Very green. Not only will they cause 50-75% fewer carbon emmisions in the construction process, they will also have 40-75% lower annual utility costs.
Affordability often comes into question with projects like this and in the case of Blu Homes these homes will be very affordable. priced from $50,000 – $350,000, based on amenities and size, these homes are very affordable and can realistically be built at about $150 a square foot.
I think Bill Haney, Co-Founder and President of Blu Homes speaks best about the company and there mission in the video below.
Gorilla Design to build Salt Lake City’s first (that I know of) shipping container home.
Last Friday I had the great pleasure of meeting with Roi Maufas and Alyssa Kay of Gorilla Design to discuss their new shipping container project just South of Liberty Park here in Salt Lake City. We had a very nice discussion about the project and I am excited to share what I learned with you.
The first home will be located at 580 E. 1300 S. in Salt Lake City, Utah and will be constructed of shipping containers with a 12″ inch exterior coating of highly insulative Fibrous Cement. The anticipated cost of the prototype build is $70 sq. ft. However, this price per sq. ft. is for the prototype home and cost will vary depending on client needs. Not everyone will want wind and solar energy and not everyone will want solarium’s and atrium’s so cost can go up or down based on needs and wants.
