Wednesday, March 22, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
19
Desigdidg for optimal edergy use
By Jim Cornelius
News Editor
You don’t have to live
off the grid to benefit from
designing your living environ-
ment for energy efficiency and
self-reliance.
“It makes sense to engineer
your house, to engineer your
living environment,” says Jack
Addison, who designed his
home east of Sisters with those
qualities in mind.
From choice of construc-
tion materials to the manner in
which you choose to heat and
cool your home to the way you
orient it toward the sun, any
homeowner can improve their
efficiency, reduce their energy
footprint — and save money.
Addison, a pilot with an
engineering background,
designed his house himself,
employing an architect to take
his design from concept to
working drawings. He “wore
the nail-belt every day” dur-
ing the construction, while his
family lived in a studio apart-
ment above his barn-shop.
He is quick to note that the
concepts of heating efficiency
and alternative sources of heat
are scalable. His house is 4,000
square feet, but the concepts
are applicable — and per-
haps easier to achieve — in a
1,500-square-foot space.
And the benefits of a tight,
well-engineered and ventilated
house accrue to the home-
owner no matter whether they
go off-grid or hook up to elec-
trical power.
The first key to efficiency is
engineering for heat retention.
“There’s lots of pretty
houses around,” Addison
notes. “Almost none of them
are engineered. The heat loss is
enormous… Houses should be
sealed and then mechanically
ventilated.”
Addison built with insulat-
ing concrete forms — hollow
foam blocks which are stacked
into the shape of the exterior
walls of a building, reinforced
with steel rebar, and then filled
with concrete. The result is
exceptionally strong construc-
tion, noise reduction and a very
high level of energy efficiency.
The house employs radi-
ant floor heating in a zone
pattern. There are nine heat-
ing zones, but Addison notes
that in practice he and his wife
only use four of the zones.
Ventilation is accomplished
with a heat-recovery ventila-
tor that circulates fresh air, but
with a minimal (approximately
3-degree) heat loss.
They derive their energy
from 20 solar panels placed
on the roof of their barn-shop
located a few yards away from
the house. The panels charge
a set of batteries that provide
electrical power.
The Addisons maintain a
diesel generator to power their
well, which requires about 100
gallons of fuel per year.
Addison noted that he and
his wife did not choose solar
for ideological reasons.
“We weren’t against hook-
ing up power,” he said. “It
was just too expensive for the
return.”
He notes that solar power
continues to become more
accessible and affordable for
all kinds of homeowners.
“It’ll pay for itself,” he
says. “The return is there.”
Addison quipped that the
number of panels raises an
engineering question: Why 20?
“Because that’s what would
fit,” he said.
He and his wife determined
that they would simply live
with the amount of power 20
panels could generate.
Their heating system is
backed up with a unique
PHOTO BY JIM CORNELIUS
Insulated concrete forms help make a house energy efficient.
Finnish wood-heating system
called a Tulikavi, centrally
located in the house. While
the Tulikavi is beautiful and
highly efficient, the same kind
of heating capability could be
achieved with a wood stove,
Addison notes.
In total, the Addisons
heat 4,000 square feet off
of an 80,000 BTU capabil-
ity. Addison estimates that a
conventional system would
require as much as 300,000
BTU capability.
For about eight months of
the year, they heat water solely
with solar energy. During win-
ter, they use propane to pre-
heat a tank. There are many
options for homeowners to
heat or supplement their heat-
ing and power with multiple
sources.
“There’s lots of ways to do
this,” he says.
Orientation of a house for
maximum passive solar impact
is another effective technique
— but the Addisons weren’t
religious about it.
“We cheated a bit in favor
of the view,” he acknowledged.
The benefits of engineering
your space, using energy-effi-
cient materials and pursuing
alternative sources of energy
are many: Increased self-reli-
ance and security during harsh
winters like the one just past, a
reduced environmental impact
— and a fatter pocketbook.
Addison recommends that
people who are interested in
engineering for efficiency
and using alternative power
sources subscribe to Home
Power Magazine.
“That’s the greatest primer
in the world,” he says.
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