At a time when municipalities, local governments and organizations have been mobilizing to help people prepare for winter, more people are consciously building ecologically and economically friendly housing from the ground up.
John Marsh of EcoHouse, L.L.C. of Bremen has built an ecologically friendly house in Bristol with the idea in mind that, over the long term, it will not only sustain and protect the environment, but also the wallet.
The house, located off on Red Oak Lane, off Sproul Hill Rd., is a two-story, square structure, 32 by 40 feet, has a garage attached with a roofed breezeway and it is surrounded by pine, oak and birch trees. Marsh described the design as a typical Maine farmhouse.
“I wanted to make something that looked conventional,” he said.
Marsh took many steps to ensure heating efficiency. He said that his company placed the house in true with the compass. The side of the house with the largest windows faces south. Conversely, the north side has the smallest windows. Marsh said that the smaller glass surface releases less heat to the outdoors.
The square structure is easier to heat, and there is an air lock in the front entrance to help maintain the existing room temperature.
Inside the largest room, which faces the south, the walls are balanced by locally grown and harvested cedar with sheetrock on the northern side. The sheetrock reflects the winter sunlight and the white cedar, which came from China, Maine, absorbs this passive heat source.
The cedar won’t be stained or painted with anything, but some of the other woodwork will be stained with natural oil.
“There is no polyurethane anywhere in the building,” he said. “Just natural oil.”
Marsh wanted to ensure that there would be no “off-gassing” of paints and other chemicals. The wood products used in the construction have no formaldehydes or other chemicals.
Marsh used a bio-based foam made from soybeans, which he sprayed in the walls and roof. The closed cell spray foam, sealed over the rafters, becomes completely inert when dry, he said.
The “R-Value” of the foam, which is the measure of resistance to cold temperatures, amounts to six-R per inch of thickness, according to Marsh. The walls have a 33-R efficiency and the cold system roof has a 60-R measure of resistance.
Houses tightly sealed with insulation need some way to circulate air. The Green Tech air exchange system supplies the house with fresh air every hour.
“We figured that this house is so tight, the air would become stagnant,” he said.
The incoming air is heated by air that is exchanged from inside the house.
There is a geothermal furnace in the basement that operates with the same concept. It uses a passive energy source to heat the house. The furnace, a Climate Master Genesis, pumps water from the ground that has a temperature of roughly 50 degrees Fahrenheit and siphons off a few degrees to heat water to the house.
Marsh said that the pump works just opposite that of a refrigerator. It concentrates heat as opposed to extracting it. In the summer months, the pump can reverse its function to extract heat and cool the house.
To further insulate the structure, Marsh and his crew built the foundation using Insulated Concrete Forms made out of Styrofoam and plastic. The forms were placed on the base of the foundation and the crew poured concrete inside. He said that performing this task was very easy and was a lot like using Leggos.
The most important aspect to the house is the insulation. He said that insulating will save energy and money.
“If you don’t lose it (heat), you don’t have to create it again,” he said. “It comes down to healthy living as well.”
Marsh emphasized the fact that no off-gassing contributes to healthier living. He said that the lawn has no fertilizers and, in fact, he said he didn’t want to grow a large lawn because it costs extra money to mow and maintain a large lawn.
The cost of building such a home may be offset by long-term savings in energy expenses. The correct design could cost 20-30 percent more to build, he said. Elements that contribute to higher overall cost include the heating system, windows (10-15 percent more), foam insulation and the steel roof (roughly $18,000). All of these factors add up to roughly $40,000 more to construct an energy efficient home.
People can still take steps toward energy efficiency without purchasing a special furnace. Construction design and placement to take advantage of the sun and seasons will save a prospective house owner from spending more on energy.
