"He used a couple innovations, and a couple decades of experience, when he recently built a speculative custom home near Wellington. The bulk of the savings, however, is in the design and construction."

" It costs $50 per month during winter to heat the 2,800-square-foot, three-bedroom house at 65-68 degrees, De-Stigter said. "

""We wanted to make this house as conventional as possible," DeStigter said. "You don't have to give up the comforts of a conventional home to build a green home with an eye on saving the environment.""

"The ranch-style home has vaulted ceilings, a 3-car garage, granite countertops and conventional appliances."

"Large, energy-efficient windows on the south side of the house catch winter sunshine. In summer, a 30-inch overhang above all windows blocks out the sun most of the day."

"The second component of the passive solar design is radiant heating (cooling in summer) from high-density concrete on both the underside and back of the house."

"Such high thermal mass of poured concrete can be a much better efficiency than excessive, conventional insulation, according to Daniel Chiras, author of The Natural Home Building Source Web site, based in Silverthorne."

"To lay the concrete foundation, DeStigter's crews dug into the side of a gently sloped hill on the 13-acre property."

"They then poured an L-shaped foundation of concrete. The upright side of the "L" was placed snug into the hill. The bottom of the L is the conventional part of the foundation."

"The insulated concrete wall between the earth and the backside wall of the house acts as a temperature regulator, because the mass maintains a consistent temperature."

"Inside the furnace room of the ranch-style home, one of the innovations DeStigter used is the Heat Recovery Ventilator by Carrier. All day and all night, the ventilator slowly balances window heat, the radiant foundation temperature and furnace heat."

"Much like a battery helps save gas in a hybrid car, the hybrid home uses a ventilator to make the furnace more efficient."

"The ventilator also helps clean the air, a crucial factor in an energy-efficient home that is tightly sealed, said passive-solar expert Thomas Doerr of Doerr Architecture in Boulder. The ventilator brings in outside air, whether 20 degrees or 95 degrees, and moderates the temperature of the fresh air before it's distributed through the house."

""As far as energy savings, the ventilator is the icing on the cake. The cake is the passive-solar design," Doerr said."

"Passive-solar design can translate into utility savings of up to 90 percent, if done right, Doerr said. The average savings that Northern Colorado eco-broker Josh Rand has seen is around 50 percent. Savings are dependent upon the users of a passive-solar house."

""This (Wellington house) is what Northern Colorado needs more of, so people don't just think of eco-homes as crazy architecture where you have to sacrifice space or amenities," said Rand, a certified EcoBroker International real estate agent with The Group Inc."

"DeStigter built the house in 2005, catching the slowed real estate market. The new house has remained unoccupied."

""That is much less than what I pay. My house is about 2,000 square feet, and costs about $200 per month to heat," Rand said."

""The more people become aware of long-term energy costs, the more valuable energy efficiencies will become. Even if you just install energy-efficient windows, you can add value to your home," he said."

"The design revolves around the sun and Colorado's climate. DeStigter used 25 years of experience, building and living in eco-homes, to design the house off Nunn Road."

""There's plenty of lighting.
... read the whole article