Image: Michael Hilliard/MHHM
WHEN A BELLEVUE–AREA family approached Thomas Jacobson to build the ultimate energy-saving house, the contractor saw the chance he’d been waiting for. He had built his business, Thomas Jacobson Construction, on sustainability, but had not yet completed a totally self-sufficient structure. “The owners came to us with two criteria: environmental friendliness and high air quality,” said Jacobson, who collaborated on the project with George Ostrow and Carrie Anderson of Velocipede Architects. Dubbed the Northwest Net Zero House, it’s designed to run only on the energy generated by its solar panels and the rainwater funneled off the roof. The house received LEED Platinum certification in January, and Jacobson’s water system had proved so innovative that King County had to write new code to approve it.
THE NUMBERS
1. NLow-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.
GET INSPIRED
Find more on making the most of your living space—tips from architects and contractors; remodels and renovations; design and decorating ideas—and tour more Northwest properties on our Home and Garden page.
Published in the The 25 Best Places to Live issue of Seattle Met.
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