Tag: green design

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Energizing architecture: how to build your self-powering dream home

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Is your custom home one that you can live in comfortably and feel good about?

In 2010, we completed construction of the first completely self-powering house in San Francisco. That’s right: 100% energy neutral.

Today, more than a decade later, we wish that all homes would be built this way.

Here’s how we did it, and what you can do to improve your own project in a move toward a net-zero (or better!) future.

1) START WITH SOLAR

An eight-kilowatt solar array, grid-connected and net-metered, produces all power necessary for domestic and transportation purposes without any on-site carbon emissions.  The owner, who had been working in the solar industry for over twenty years at the time of construction, was committed to “getting off the pipe” …as in: a house without a gas meter.

2) ALIGN WITH THE SUN

The self-powering home design includes a structure with ample roof area for the panels and a highly-efficient envelope. The floor plan sees open living spaces at the rear of the house, directly adjacent to the garden.  These rooms employ ample, south-facing glazing for maximum solar gain.

A diagram of the electric system and a photo of two electric cars charging in the garage
3) USE PASSIVE RADIANT HEATING

On mild days, exposed concrete floors with radiant tubes convey passively-collected heat to the north-facing portions of the house via a small recirculating pump.  We specified Marvin wood windows with High-R-Tripane glazing and sprayed, Biobase, soy foam insulation for R-19 walls and an R-40 roof.  This creates a tight enclosure while also accounting for existing, historic “blind walls” and the inherent problems with air and moisture infiltration that they present.

A three-story stairwell topped with operable skylights is a dramatic vertical space and creates a heat stack, providing all cooling necessary for the moderate San Francisco climate.

The mechanical systems are based on the “all electric” concept.  In the active heating mode, a 2/3 ton electric heat pump provides hot water for the floor system.  A second heat pump provides domestic hot water for showers, laundry etc.

A diagram of the self-powering home featuring radiant heat in the floorboards and throughout the house, alongside a photo of the system located in the garage
4) CHOOSE SMART FIXTURES & APPLIANCES

LED fixtures and high-efficiency appliances lower the total electrical load, while a plug-in hybrid charges in off-hours to balance production and consumption cycles with the net metering approach.  

5) RECLAIM WATER

A gray water reclamation system provides irrigation for a shared backyard vegetable garden and for drought-tolerant landscape features – both at the yard and the street.  

A diagram of the water recycling system in this self-powering home, shown alongside a photo of the backyard garden and irrigation

GOING FURTHER

This self-powering home project was cutting edge a decade ago. It represents more than a “green” structure. We work at the level of lifestyle: considering transportation, food production and community in this urban setting in a holistic approach while also serving the specific needs and desires of the homeowner.

Being able to “divorce” the local power company and lower your utility bills is a nice perk, of course.

But being environmentally sustainable is just the beginning; this is now our status quo.

Our latest thoughts on the sustainability may be found in our manifesto about modern architecture.

We are designing the future of buildings that not only maintain, but also give back to the environment.

If this resonates with you, let’s talk: book a 20min consultation to talk about the dreams and aspirations you have for your project.

About this Project

Principal Architect: Ross Levy, Levy Art + Architecture 
Architecture Design Team: Karen Andersen and Michael Ageno, Levy Art + Architecture 
Structural Engineer: Shaun Monyihan, SEMCO
Mechanical Engineer: Bill Dakin, Davis Energy Group

This project was Fine Homebuilding’s “Remodel of the Year” in 2013 and also appeared in the April 2013 print edition of San Francisco magazine in “Nothing Never Looked so Good” by Joanne Furio and Lauren Murrow.

Row House Recharged --- comp of Fine Homebuilding magazine featuring a two-page spread about the self-powering home

About Levy Art + Architecture

Levy Art + Architecture firm is an interdisciplinary studio operating at the intersection of architecture, environmentalism and art. Our work is inspired by a commitment to research and sustainability as a basis for the design process. The knowledge derived from this study is embodied in form, structure and light. It defines spaces that transform our daily experience and influence the way we live in urban and natural environments.

    Contact Us

    Zero Energy House

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    Architect: Ross Levy⁠ (Levy Art + Architecture)⁠
    Project Team: Karen Andersen (Levy Art + Architecture)⁠
    MEP: Davis Energy Group⁠
    Contractor: n/a
    Structural Engineer: SEMCO
    Photographer: Ken Gutmaker

    This project aims to be the first residence in San Francisco that is completely self-powering and carbon neutral. The architecture has been developed in conjunction with the mechanical systems and landscape design, each influencing the other to arrive at an integrated solution. Working from the historic facade, the design preserves the traditional formal parlors transitioning to an open plan at the central stairwell which defines the distinction between eras. The new floor plates act as passive solar collectors and radiant tubing redistributes collected warmth to the original, North facing portions of the house. Careful consideration has been given to the envelope design in order to reduce the overall space conditioning needs, retrofitting the old and maximizing insulation in the new.

    Nothing Never Looked So Good

    Words by Joanne Furio and Lauren Murrow

    An Edwardian Divorces PG&E

    As the managing director of San Jose–based SunPower corporation, William Kelly unabashedly geeks out about solar panels. But when he set about expanding his family’s 1904 Noe Valley Edwardian, he took things a step further, getting “off the pipe”— eliminating the need for natural gas. Instead, a radiant system of water-filled tubing beneath the floorboards provides heat, and cooking is done on an induction stovetop. San Francisco firm Levy Art and Architecture expanded the home to 2,424 square feet, moving living areas to the south-facing rear of the house to harness the sunlight; a skylight over the glass-encased three-story staircase lets natural light reach from rooftop to basement. Meanwhile, SunPower’s photovoltaic solar panel system channels 7.6 kilowatts of electricity—enough to power the home and the family’s two cars. J.F.

    Originally published in the April 2013 issue of San Francisco.

    Publications:

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    ZeroNRG Floor Plan
    Schematic of radiant heating system
    Schematic of electric system
    Schematic of water recycling system

    Post Ranch Master Plan

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    This Master Plan for Post Ranch Inn, located in Big Sur, CA, was developed in keeping with the fundamental goals of the original design.  With an emphasis on sustainability, the project seeks to preserve the natural landscape, increase on-site housing, minimize vehicular traffic, provide fresh produce and include alternative energy and water reclamation systems. The specific forms and materials of the architecture follow from this overall approach with structures closely related to their immediate natural context and planned in concert with the landscape. Sited on a west-facing ridge, the manager’s residence is inspired by views of the Pacific with the roof extending to create an overhang towards the horizon. Characterized by seamless transitions from indoors to out, the simple geometries form an intimate relationship to the topography and unify the building with nature.

    Having completed his internship with Mickey Muennig as the Post Ranch, Ross was asked to work on a Master Plan for additional, planned development.  The scheme includes; new guest rooms on the ridge south of the Sierra Mar Restaurant, Spa and Guest facilities around the pool, added employee housing, a central services building, alternative energy and water treatment systems. The structures are inspired by natural forms, clad in natural material and set into the landscape in keeping with the organic architecture and environmental ethos of the Inn.

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    Zero Energy House hits Asia

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    Zero Energy House was published in FuturARC (an Asian Green Architecture magazine) early in 2013, in an article written by Jalel Sager.  The article explores the California codes, the most stringent in the US (probably the world). Here Jalel finds several developments that go further than most; their owners speak of sharing their abode with the planet. The battle between the personal and the political is fought on the fringes of mainstream Green.

    Here is a PDF of the article

    Green California Article from Jan-Feb FutureArc

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    Fine Homebuilding – ReModel of the Year

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    Our Zero Energy House was awarded the Best Remodel by Fine Homebuilding Magazine.

    Best Remodel: Row House Recharged

    A historic home in the heart of San Francisco maintains its traditional facade

    A San Francisco row house was badly in need of a renovation. In addition, the owners wanted a more modern home for their growing family, and they wanted their house to meet its own energy needs plus those of an electric car. Although city preservation requirements limited the changes that could be made to the house’s Edwardian facade, architects Ross Levy and Karen Andersen found that they could give the facade a simple facelift while transforming the house behind it. Because row houses can feel cramped and dark, Levy and Andersen brought light inside and created the illusion of space with three strategies:

    (1) defining spaces with details, not walls

    (2) integrating glazing where it would have the most impact; and

    (3) using a central stairway with a skylight at the top as a lightwell

    They achieved net-zero energy use by insulating the roof with open-cell spray foam and the walls with an inch of closed-cell foam covered with fiberglass batts, making the house all-electric, and powering it with an 8kw photovoltaic array. A chart demonstrates the economics of this net-zero home and estimates the payback time for the energy-efficiency extras to be nine years. For its successful bonding of preservation with performance while also reflecting its owners’ lifestyle, this home is FHB’s remodel of the year for 2013.

    From Fine Homebuilding #235 (Houses)
    pp. 42-47 April 25, 2013

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    Fly Ash in Concrete

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    There has been a lot of discussion recently about fly ash in concrete as there are concerns about heavy metals in this by-product of coal fired power production.

     “Replacing Portland cement is a high priority for all of us…” Russell Perry, Smith Group

    “The Environmental Building News (Alex Wilson) continues to support the use of coal fly ash in building materials as long as:

    1. the use of fly ash reduces green house gas emissions elsewhere in the materials stream and
    2. the fly ash is chemically and physically locked up so that the risk of leaching is kept acceptably low.

    A 2008 study by researchers at The Ohio State University found that fly ash concrete exposed to heat through steam curing retained 99% of its mercury content and showed final emissions similar to thoseof common soil.

    A follow up study at Ohio State in 2009 that looked at both gas emissions and liquid leaching showed that the amount of mercury emitted from fly ash concrete was independent of the amount of mercury in the cement.

    In California and much of the Western United States, the primary cement substitute in concrete is slag. Bode concrete, for example, advertises a “green” mix that is 30% slag and 15% flay ash, in place of 45% of Portland Cement.

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    Concrete Pumper laying a slab

    Slag is byproduct of the metal smelting process. Common components of slag include the oxides of silicon, aluminum, and magnesium, as well as sulfur, which is always present. Slag also contains phosphorous, calcium, ash, remnants of flux materials such as limestone, and remainders of chemical reactions between the metal and the furnace lining. Slag cement has actually been used in concrete projects in the United States for over a century. The earliest use of slag cement was documented in 1774, when it was combined with slaked lime and used as a mortar. Slag cement was first used commercially in Germany in the 1860s, and it was such a success that engineers in 1889 decided to build the Paris underground metro using slag-lime cement.

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    Eco-Justice

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    Supporters of eco-justice attack the historic lack of regard for non-human parts of the environment. They encourage respect for living things as well as the various parts of the biosphere.

    Advocates of eco-justice reject the idea that the worth of a thing is its value to human beings. They argue that other parts of nature have value entirely independent of their usefulness to humanity.

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    Edward Burtynsky – Manufactured Landscapes

    Natural systems depend on diversity, and adaptation to provide resilience in a dynamic environment

    Human beings, as part of this system, depend upon bio-diversity as a reservoir of potential that allows for the entire system to respond to changing conditions.

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    Edward Burtynsky – Manufactured Landscapes

    Given our growing ability to comprehend the profound nature of these inter-relationships, human beings have an ethical responsibility to protect these processes.

    Wasteful practices and their hazardous byproducts have typically impacted the less fortunate (or less vocal), be they human, animal or plant, giving rise to the idea of Eco-Justice

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    Edward Burtynsky – Manufactured Landscapes

    There are a variety of Guidelines and programs aimed at reducing our environmental footprint.  The more modest attempt to be “less bad.” The most progressive propose to create a healing framework.

    • Reducing Impacts
    • Increasing efficiency
    • Achieving Net Zero Energy Use
    • Achieving Net Zero Water Use
    • Building Regenerative Systems

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    Edward Burtynsky – Oil

    Architect’s Response

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