Green Groundbreaker

1.

Low-voltage LED and compact fluorescent bulbs help preserve precious kilowatts so the solar energy system can keep things humming. During the long days of summer, the light meter spins backward, storing up kilowatts for short cloudy winter days.

2.

Contractor Thomas Jacobson chose sustainably harvested Douglas fir for the exposed beams. Eighty percent of the home’s lumber was certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.

3.

The Architects designed the 3,300-square-foot house to be airtight with a commercial-grade air-circulation system. Pollutants from the outside are caught in HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) fiberglass filters.

4.

Nontoxic finishes on the cherrywood cabinetry won’t leak harmful chemicals into the air or onto anyone’s skin.

5.

Sink and bath taps look typical enough, but the water reaches them via a system of copper rain chains outside. The chains divert rainwater to three underground tanks where it’s filtered for potability 
and stored.

6.

The fireplace was constructed to conduct heat back into the house instead of out the chimney. Its surface is made from Pacific Northwest–quarried huckleberry basalt.