Sustainable Green Building: Cellar Ridge Custom Homes - McMinnville, Oregon
Green Features
Water Conservation
Water conservation refers to intentional use of water and recycling of water for various purposes around the home. High importance is placed upon incorporating water conservation strategies into the building process. Building techniques and designs that save water not only save the homeowner money and make a home more energy efficient but also help combat needless water waste and issues of water scarcity throughout the world. In Oregon we are lucky to have an abundance of rainwater! Harvesting this resource makes sense for the environmentally conscious home owner who is interested in irrigating without having to pay for city water. Storage tanks that collect rain water and/or gray water can be set up to provide for our home water needs, such as flushing toilets and watering the lawn.
The way we use energy around our homes can cost us big bucks or small coins depending upon which energy strategies we incorporate into the building process. Efficient energy use is the primary way of keeping monthly energy bills low and maximizing comfort within the home. Using energy efficiently is also just plain smart – Utility bills of the future will become more expensive as our dependence on fossil fuels collides with their dwindling supply. Putting energy efficiency strategies in place to prevent energy from seeping from our homes and being wasted is the smartest thing a new homeowner can do to save money and commit to responsible, environmentally friendly energy use. Cellar Ridge’s building practices concentrate on energy efficiency using various strategies depending upon the level of efficiency you want your home to achieve. For example, we take advantage of window solutions such as using super efficient windows that allow passive solar heating while at the same time providing us with the most beautiful views around us. Furthermore, placing these windows on the south side of the house is a smart design that will let more natural daylight into the home, reducing the need for the lights to be and increasing the aesthetics of your living space. Or, perhaps you like the idea of incorporating a solar tube in your hallway as a strategy of supplying an amazing amount of natural daylight to a darker space with no energy cost. Other energy conservation strategies we encourage include insulating the entire home as much as possible with high R-value insulation to reduce the need for turning on the heat, offsetting studs from the walls to create more space for insulation, and building a home to allow efficient passive cooling in the summertime during the night to reduce the temperature during the day. At cellar Ridge we are committed to achieving your desired level of energy efficiency through building practices that provide for the most efficient energy conservation and usage, indoor air quality, environmentally responsible material use and green architecture.
Sustainable materials are materials that ensure environmental, economic and social equity among all parties involved in their production process. Let’s follow timber along a sustainable production process as an example: A tree sourced from a forest that gets re-planted where the owners or residents of the land are compensated fairly for its harvest makes its way to a lumber mill where workers earn fair wages and work in safe conditions. From there it is put on the shelf and priced based on its value, which should truthfully reflect all of the costs of its production, as well as cover the cost of any pollution along the way. At Cellar Ridge we would consider a tree like this a sustainable material. We pride ourselves in thoughtfully sourcing materials that are sustainable along the entire production process because we care about how our building practices impact people and the planet.
Indoor Air Quaility
Indoor air refers the air that circulates throughout the home. Depending on how the home is built, indoor air may be of poor quality or really excellent quality. The quality of the air we breathe and its impact on our health is paramount to Cellar Ridge’s approach of building homes. We apply several strategies to our building practices to ensure healthy and efficient air flow through your house. A primary strategy is incorporating a ventilation system that brings fresh, clean air into the house and transports stale, dirty air out of the house. To support healthy air flow, sealing every nook and cranny of the home with high R-value insulation. This prevents dirty air from inside your home’s wall space (where there is substantial dust and dirt build-up from insulation and other building materials) from seeping into your family’s living space. As we green builders like to say, “Build it tight and ventilate it right!”
Certifications
There are 5 levels of certification that your home may earn depending upon the level of sustainable characteristics incorporated in its design. Cellar Ridge can build your house according to your unique vision of earning certification on any of these levels. They are as follows:
Building to code: Building a house to code is, quite frankly, just above breaking the law. Code requires builders to carry out a project with the least amount of forethought and energy put into its design and building practices. These homes are built quickly, cheaply and with the least amount of regard for sustainability possible.
Energy Star: Energy Star certification will certify your house to around 10-15% above code for energy efficiency measures. This joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy certification focuses on energy conservation and
efficiency.
Earth Advantage: Certification from the non-profit Earth Advantage Institute has a greater focus on resource use and air quality inside the home. Certification through Earth Advantage demonstrates more of a commitment to sustainable building practices than Energy Star.
LEED: LEED (Leadership in Energy Efficiency and Design) certification is a holistic approach to building based on intentional design and building practices in regards to: energy savings, carbon dioxide emissions reduction, water efficiency, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts. Homes built to LEED standards can be LEED certified silver, gold or platinum.
Passive House: Passive House refers to the German term and certification Passivhaus, identifying a rigorous standard for energy efficiency and reduced carbon footprint. This is based almost exclusively on energy conservation (much more aggressive than Energy Star) and is awarded to buildings with incredibly low energy use based on sustainable, holistic design and building practices.
Water conservation refers to intentional use of water and recycling of water for various purposes around the home. High importance is placed upon incorporating water conservation strategies into the building process. Building techniques and designs that save water not only save the homeowner money and make a home more energy efficient but also help combat needless water waste and issues of water scarcity throughout the world. In Oregon we are lucky to have an abundance of rainwater! Harvesting this resource makes sense for the environmentally conscious home owner who is interested in irrigating without having to pay for city water. Storage tanks that collect rain water and/or gray water can be set up to provide for our home water needs, such as flushing toilets and watering the lawn.
The way we use energy around our homes can cost us big bucks or small coins depending upon which energy strategies we incorporate into the building process. Efficient energy use is the primary way of keeping monthly energy bills low and maximizing comfort within the home. Using energy efficiently is also just plain smart – Utility bills of the future will become more expensive as our dependence on fossil fuels collides with their dwindling supply. Putting energy efficiency strategies in place to prevent energy from seeping from our homes and being wasted is the smartest thing a new homeowner can do to save money and commit to responsible, environmentally friendly energy use. Cellar Ridge’s building practices concentrate on energy efficiency using various strategies depending upon the level of efficiency you want your home to achieve. For example, we take advantage of window solutions such as using super efficient windows that allow passive solar heating while at the same time providing us with the most beautiful views around us. Furthermore, placing these windows on the south side of the house is a smart design that will let more natural daylight into the home, reducing the need for the lights to be and increasing the aesthetics of your living space. Or, perhaps you like the idea of incorporating a solar tube in your hallway as a strategy of supplying an amazing amount of natural daylight to a darker space with no energy cost. Other energy conservation strategies we encourage include insulating the entire home as much as possible with high R-value insulation to reduce the need for turning on the heat, offsetting studs from the walls to create more space for insulation, and building a home to allow efficient passive cooling in the summertime during the night to reduce the temperature during the day. At cellar Ridge we are committed to achieving your desired level of energy efficiency through building practices that provide for the most efficient energy conservation and usage, indoor air quality, environmentally responsible material use and green architecture.
Sustainable materials are materials that ensure environmental, economic and social equity among all parties involved in their production process. Let’s follow timber along a sustainable production process as an example: A tree sourced from a forest that gets re-planted where the owners or residents of the land are compensated fairly for its harvest makes its way to a lumber mill where workers earn fair wages and work in safe conditions. From there it is put on the shelf and priced based on its value, which should truthfully reflect all of the costs of its production, as well as cover the cost of any pollution along the way. At Cellar Ridge we would consider a tree like this a sustainable material. We pride ourselves in thoughtfully sourcing materials that are sustainable along the entire production process because we care about how our building practices impact people and the planet.
Indoor air refers the air that circulates throughout the home. Depending on how the home is built, indoor air may be of poor quality or really excellent quality. The quality of the air we breathe and its impact on our health is paramount to Cellar Ridge’s approach of building homes. We apply several strategies to our building practices to ensure healthy and efficient air flow through your house. A primary strategy is incorporating a ventilation system that brings fresh, clean air into the house and transports stale, dirty air out of the house. To support healthy air flow, sealing every nook and cranny of the home with high R-value insulation. This prevents dirty air from inside your home’s wall space (where there is substantial dust and dirt build-up from insulation and other building materials) from seeping into your family’s living space. As we green builders like to say, “Build it tight and ventilate it right!”
