What does green home design mean to you?
Sustainable home design can be as simple as orienting your house to the sun…or as comprehensive as crafting a roof-to-foundation net-zero home.
My philosophy? There are many paths to a sustainable home. Let’s incorporate the sustainable features that work hardest for you and your home.
There’s no pressure to be the greenest person on the block…and there’s nothing stopping us if you want to be.
Teaming up with a green home design expert.
With decades of experience in the successful design of sustainable homes, I can help you to navigate the many choices involved in creating your green home….It’s easy being green, when you’re Frog Rock Design.
Done right, green home design can pay for itself—and then some.
We’ll start with the freebies, move onto the investments, and then see if we want to add any additional measures.
Start with site-specific design
Pick a direction.
First, we look at your land. As a specialist in residential architecture, I will frame the best views in your windows, prioritize natural light, and consider the flow from inside to outside. As a sustainable design expert, I will also orient your home with passive and active solar in mind and situate your home with an eye towards the impacts on natural drainage, wildlife habitat, and native vegetation.
Prioritize sustainable home design
Turn up the heat.
This is where the energy savings come in—how do we keep a comfortable temperature in your home while minimizing resource use over time? Insulation materials are often a simple but key investment. We’ll also mull over PV (Photovoltaic) solar, geothermal, or solar hot water. Together.
Right Size Spaces.
The greenest thing we can do is to use less. With over 20 years of creating custom floor plans with a focus on smaller footprints and “right sized” spaces, I help my clients decide the right size for their spaces and program needs. I’m an expert at providing functional floor plans that have a soulful feeling and all the right amenities.
Know the tech.
I’m a “thermal nerd.” It’s not enough for me to just suggest a roof insulating material or a solar hot water system—I know these materials inside and out. I’m adept at navigating the wide array of options and collaborating with you on the best walls, roofs, foundations, floors, windows, heating and cooling…all of which saves you money in the long run and provides comfort in all seasons.
And know the technicians.
I love coordinating with local tech specialists on active PV solar, geothermal, ground source heat pumps and solar hot water. Don’t know what that means? I’ll explain it in plain terms, if you like—just know I can “speak engineer” to other geeks when needed so you don’t have to.
Let nature support green features
Take a light touch.
In green design, we count on natural light whenever possible. When we can’t, we employ artful LED lighting. I’ll also suggest electric appliances that lighten your utilities bill.
Weather the storms.
Home isn’t only indoors. Patios, porches, decks, exterior fireplaces, and fire pits are all key gathering spaces. But Montana is a dramatic place, and these spaces need to withstand harsh elements and rapidly changing seasons. A big part of sustainable design is building spaces to last…so my architecture approach will protect and preserve these areas from whatever Montana can throw at them.
Go green, your way
Do what feels right.
Fully sustainable home design is always an option—and never a requirement. If you’re deeply dedicated to living a more sustainable life, my green design experience can guide us towards thick-pained European windows, high-efficiency heat pumps, photovoltaics, specially insulated foundations, and everything else that goes into passive solar construction.
If you’re not, perfect! This is all about your way of “being green.”
My take on green building types:
Passive Solar Home
My personal favorite environmentally friendly home. These homes utilize the sun and thermal mass in the building structure to do the heavy lifting of heating and cooling the building. This is a no-brainer in cold climates with ample access to the sun like Montana and Wyoming with the right south(ish) facing site. These homes have lots of windows for a light and airy feel, natural ventilation and connection to the outdoors. Well placed and sized windows with properly sized roof overhangs and awnings allow the sun to come in the winter and provide shade in the summer. They are often married to high R-value/tight thermal envelopes to keep the heat in and cold out, concrete floors for thermal mass and radiant heat for warm toes providing comfortable homes with little dust. Heat can be either electric or natural gas and should always have an air exchanger. Though the beauty of these homes is that it’s ok to use natural ventilation and open the inside to the outside in at least three seasons.
Passive House
These homes utilize European green standards, are all electric and are possibly the most environmental from a heating and energy cost savings perspective. High R-value/exceedingly tight building envelopes with the right building proportion and window placement and type are a requirement. As is thermal design analysis and green construction detailing from certified Passive House Designer (I partner with EMU for this part). These homes are very comfortable with a stable internal temperature and do not require much energy to heat and cool even in places like Montana, providing long term cost savings. The best heating systems for these homes are usually mini-splits or forced-air with a heat pump(s) and separate air exchange (ERV). These homes can be more restrictive in building form and window placement (basements typically don’t pass, nor do floor to ceiling windows). These are excellent homes for those committed from the beginning to the highest standards of green design like all electric heating/cooling and environmentally friendly insulation materials. Along with the pocketbook to invest in higher quality European windows and other high performance building system details ($$).
Pretty Good Home
The focus is on creating homes that are beautiful, functional, comfortable, healthy, durable and energy efficient. These homes take a standard code home to the next level, employing energy efficient and green features based on the home owner’s goals. There isn’t a standard to meet but an attitude and goals to create as energy efficient and healthy home as is possible for the location and budget. These homes are typically “right sized” with simple designs made out of durable materials. They are insulated and sealed better than a standard home and may employ passive solar strategies. The heating and cooling systems vary, but they are tight enough that they should have an air exchanger. Any home that is well designed and thought out can be a “Pretty Good Home.”
Lets talk about green!
Ready to start the process? Let’s have a conversation to see if we are a good fit.
So yesterday wasn’t the coldest one we are going to have all week, but with the sun out and minus three degrees outside at 3:30 pm, the house brought itself up to 81 degrees in the living room. Nice work, Tammy!