A8
THE ASTORIAN • THuRSdAy, dEcEmbER 2, 2021
More Oregonians embrace all-electric homes
Upgrades that
improve efficiency
By JANET EASTMAN
The Oregonian
Brett and Lori Patten
searched for two years to find
their future home. To them,
forward thinking meant
more than a place to live for
a long time. Their house and
its renewable power sources
needed to minimize utility
costs, maintain good indoor
air quality and above all,
avoid fossil fuels to protect
the future of the planet.
After exploring existing
homes for sale, they decided
to buy a solar-ready one.
Their new residence, which is
under construction by Ichijo
USA in Hillsboro, is expected
to have zero energy costs
based on its energy perfor-
mance score once photovol-
taic panels are added to offset
home electricity use.
The Pattens, who are
in their 50s, envision their
retirement years as being free
from electric, gas and even
gasoline bills. With their new
home on its way and an elec-
tric vehicle as part of the plan,
that future can start now.
“For my wife and me,
we want to be efficient with
our expenses, especially
when we’re living on a fixed
income,” said Brett Patten.
“And we have a social con-
sciousness about how we con-
tribute to the environment.”
Everyone who has endured
Oregon’s frosty winters, siz-
zling summers and wildfire
smoke seems more intent on
having a tightly constructed,
highly insulated home, where
expensively heated or cooled
air stays inside while harmful
particles are kept outside.
During
Portland’s
record-breaking heat wave,
which spiked to 116 degrees
in June, the Pattens escaped
their energy-inefficient rental
home — “it was brutal,” said
Brett Patten, “the upstairs
was 10 degrees hotter than
downstairs” — and hung out
in an Ichijo USA model home
similar to their soon-to-be,
all-electric house in Hills-
boro’s Reed’s Crossing.
Here, there was no mas-
sive air conditioner, huffing
and puffing, he said, but the
temperature was a refreshing
68 degrees on all levels.
A sealed building enve-
lope with controlled ventila-
tion and an air filtering sys-
tem not only reduces energy
use and costs, but it blocks
out smoke and other pollut-
ants, and reduces moisture,
which can cause allergens
and mold.
Triple-glass windows and
extra insulation in the attic,
walls and floors can also muf-
fle outside noise. And solar
and backup battery systems
keep appliances and devices
running during a power
outage.
Although the Pattens’ plan
is to generate electricity on
the roof with photovoltaic
panels, renters and homeown-
ers can sign up for Commu-
nity Solar to receive electric-
ity from a locally developed
solar farm at rates that can be
lower than regular electricity.
There are other big and
small improvements people
can make that pay off during
cold snaps, heat waves and
most other climate conditions
that may come their way.
And Energy Trust of Oregon
is offering cash incentives on
many upgrades.
All-electric homes
For climate, indoor air
quality and cost-savings rea-
sons, more Oregonians are
modernizing their homes to
all-electric or seeking out
new construction with 100%
electric power, either of
which can now be renewably
sourced.
Electric appliances and
heating have long been used
for smaller homes, from
duplexes to accessory dwell-
ing units, to simplify instal-
lations and avoid the cost of
adding a dedicated gas line
that connects to a larger gas
pipeline.
According to the NW
Natural gas utility, custom-
ers are paying less to power
a furnace, water heater, oven,
range and clothes dryer than
they did 15 years ago, espe-
Ichijo USA
A solar-ready, all-electric house designed and constructed by Ichijo USA is seen in Hillsboro’s Reed’s Crossing.
MORE INSIDE
New research shows
potential heating, cost
benefits with skylights
in your home • A5
cially if they install a high-ef-
ficiency natural gas furnace
and air conditioner.
But electricity is still
needed to power the lights,
electronics, air conditioner or
other appliances.
Increasingly,
builders
and owners of larger and
more expensive dwellings
are joining the electric home
movement.
The Home Builders Asso-
ciation of Metro Portland
has produced the Street of
Dreams luxury new home
tour with its main sponsor,
NW Natural, since 1975. And
the association plans to con-
tinue to produce the month-
long event.
In October, however, the
group debuted a new event,
the Homes of Tomorrow
Today Tour, which allowed
people to walk inside eight,
all-electric homes with solar
panels and car charging sta-
tions. Also on display: elec-
tric lawn mowers and leaf
blowers with zero emissions
that can replace gas lawn
equipment.
The building and con-
struction industry makes up
about 40% of the world’s
carbon emissions, accord-
ing to experts. Furniture, fix-
tures and equipment also
contribute to the overall car-
bon footprint. Making these
products durable and sustain-
able reduces their impact, say
experts.
Designer Emily Hen-
derson, an influencer with
a million blog followers,
is renovating a century-old
farmhouse for her family in
southwest Portland. To add to
her sustainable lifestyle, she’s
replacing gas equipment with
electric heat pumps for cool-
ing and heating air and heat-
ing water, and adding other
electric systems.
Henderson was honest
in her blog about facing the
learning curve of cooking
and baking with an induc-
tion range. Then she posted
photos of high-end electric
offerings from Ilve, Bertaz-
zoni, Fisher and Paykel, and
others.
An AGA Mercury Series
induction range is a real con-
tender, Henderson wrote.
Consumer
Reports
researchers found that the
electric smooth-top ranges
they tested offered faster
cooking times, better baking
and broiling, and more pre-
cise temperature control than
gas.
After consulting with
Portland-based green experts
Josh Salinger of Birdsmouth
design-build firm and Brian
Stewart of Electrify Now,
Henderson joined a commu-
‘WE dId NOT ELEcTRIFy OuR HOmE
WITH THE PuRPOSE TO SAVE mONEy NOW
OR EVEN OVER A LONG PERIOd OF TImE.
WE dId IT TO dEmONSTRATE PASSIVE HOuSE
dESIGN ANd TEcHNOLOGIES TO HELP
SAVE OuR PLANET ANd ALL cHILdREN.’
Tad Everhart | remodeled his two-story house in southeast Portland’s
Mount Tabor neighborhood to use a third of the power it once needed
nity solar project to access
100% clean energy and
PGE’s Green Future Choice
Renewable Power, which
does not come from natural
gas-powered plants.
“As we say in our house
every night, ‘We love you,
Mother
Earth,’”
wrote
Henderson.
Portland developer Eli
Spevak, the owner of Orange
Splot, designs and builds
all-electric homes in small
communities, most recently
Cully Green in northeast Port-
land’s Cully neighborhood.
Here, townhomes are
clustered around a court-
yard shaded by fir trees.
Sound-dampening
walls
with cellulose insulation,
coated double-pane win-
dows and other green features
lower the homes’ operating
expenses and help regulate
air temperature.
Spevak said that a decade
ago environmentally con-
scious buyers were asking
him for tankless gas water
heaters, in-floor radiant heat
and gas ranges.
“Maybe there was a time
when it made sense to burn
methane in our homes,” he
said.
But times have changed.
“Today, electric systems
are healthier, safer and much
more efficient,” he said.
Oregon’s recently updated
building code requirements
are among the most demand-
ing in the nation, accord-
ing to Rachel Trice of the
Home Builders Associa-
tion of Metro Portland. Still,
developers and builders spe-
cializing in high-perfor-
mance homes surpass these
requirements.
In addition to Passive
House and Net Zero Energy
homes, other green build-
ing certification programs
include Earth Advantage,
a Portland-based nonprofit
facilitating sustainable, qual-
ity construction.
Another option is Energy
Star-certified homes, which
generate fewer greenhouse
gas emissions than typi-
cal buildings and meet strict
energy performance stan-
dards set by the U.S. Environ-
mental Protection Agency.
Over the past 10 to 15
years, buyers have become
increasingly more aware of
environmental issues, said
Douglas Macleod of Blue
Sky Property Northwest, who
sells efficient homes.
His clients, who are
mostly first-time home buy-
ers and people who are down-
sizing, also appreciate stricter
building codes and voluntary
upgrades by builders.
Macleod recently sold
a new, 1,276-square-foot,
all-electric home in northeast
Portland’s Roseway neigh-
borhood for its asking price
of $412,000. He also found a
buyer for the 815-square-foot
home next door, which sold
for $342,500.
Governments are making
progress, too.
“California is going all
electric for new construc-
tion in 2023,” Macleod said.
“Washington state’s gover-
nor wants to introduce legis-
lation similar to California’s
and they’re talking about
adopting codes mandating
or encouraging all-electric
new building construction in
Oregon.
“It’s coming,” he added.
Retrofitting
Nicholas Kinzie, of Ash-
land, tested out the benefits of
solar in the smallest of ways
— with a solar cellphone
charger. Over time, he has
converted his house to be net
zero. It’s powered by solar
panels that produce enough
renewable energy to meet
annual consumption, with
Tesla Powerwalls for back-up
power.
A zero-energy home also
reduces pollution and makes
a home healthier, quieter,
more comfortable and more
affordable, according to
Energy Trust of Oregon.
Kinzie, who was featured
as a success story in Port-
land’s Sustainable Building
Week 2021 in October, also
upgraded to an EcoSmart
tankless water heater and
solar-powered attic fans.
In a video produced for
October’s virtual event, he
explained that exterior win-
dow shades and a retractable
awning help retain the heat or
cold he wants inside.
Retrofitting, or future-fit-
ting, a property also often
includes water-saving fea-
tures and sustainable build-
ing materials and finishes that
create less waste.
Tad and Maria Everhart
remodeled their two-story
house in southeast Portland’s
Mount Tabor neighborhood
to use a third of the power it
once needed.
Guided by exacting Pas-
sive House building stan-
dards, they modernized their
24-year-old home to be super
insulated and all-electric.
Passive House adherents
prefer lower-emission insu-
lation like cellulose or wood
fiber instead of foam. Win-
dows have an additional layer
between the inner glass and
outer glass. And windows
are placed to maximize light,
ventilation and views.
Although no window is as
energy efficient as a highly
insulated wall, triple-glazed
windows resist heat flow
twice as well as legally
required double-pane win-
dows, Everhart found.
The total energy to mine
window materials, refine
them, produce then assemble,
ship and install windows —
called embodied energy and
emissions — is only about
5% or 10% more than a stan-
dard window.
“The good news is we can
produce high-performance
building products using
slightly more energy than for
conventional building prod-
ucts,” said Everhart.
The size of the foundation
is also considered in Passive
Houses since cement for con-
crete requires a huge amount
of energy, usually from burn-
ing coal. Everhart said build-
ing materials and equipment
are still mostly produced by
fossil fuels.
The home’s orientation on
the site and its shape are also
considered to reduce energy
needs.
The Everharts pay about
$6 more a month for PGE’s
100% renewable power pro-
gram, instead of pulling
energy from natural gas-pow-
ered plants. They said the
premium lets them support
the future without having to
install a wind turbine in their
yard or solar panels on their
roof.
“We did not electrify our
home with the purpose to
save money now or even over
a long period of time,” said
Tad Everhart. “We did it to
demonstrate Passive House
design and technologies to
help save our planet and all
children.”