Central Oregon takes home National Green Building Award

Green Building News January 2006

January 23, 2006

Earth Advantage® Builder Wins Gold for National Energy Efficiency Award
Earth Advantage builder SunTerra Homes Inc., of Bend, Oregon, has been awarded one of the most prestigious awards the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) presents at their annual International Builders' Show. Sunterra's home has won the top-tier level, Gold, for the NAHB's EnergyValue Housing Award (EVHA) in the custom built, cold climate category. Not only has this home achieved a high level of energy efficiency, but has added a multitude of healthier indoor air and environmentally responsible features that defines it as a truly sustainable design.

"This is a remarkable home," states homeowner Bruce Sullivan. "Jim Chauncey of SunTerra Homes has been building with energy-efficient practices for 30 years and we knew his company was the only one that could make our dream home a reality. Being rated ENERGY STAR® and earning a Platinum certification by Earth Advantage for our house is a testimony on the quality of craftsmanship and superb design features that has gone into the home."

SunTerra is no stranger to awards. Having won numerous awards in the local Bend market, they also won the National Energy Award in 1986 and took home the EVHA's Silver Award in 2003. This home has been designed to conserve about 70 percent of the energy used in a conventional home. The energy savings is so significant the home has been certified ENERGY STAR and Earth Advantage Platinum (the top tier level for energy and environmental performance).

The house features a passive-solar design that captures sun during the winter months to naturally warm the home. All three levels have concrete floors that help absorb and store the solar heat gain from the south-facing windows. Water heated with a high-efficiency heat pump circulates through tubes in the floor providing a very effective and efficient way to warm the interior. The ground level slab-on-grade floor has R-10 rigid insulation. Spray-foam insulation covers the entire building shell and creates a continuous barrier to air leakage making the structure extremely tight. All appliances and lighting fixtures are ENERGY STAR rated. Solar hot water is incorporated into this home to round out the array of sustainable features.

"This is exactly the type of home we like to see" says Duane Woik, Earth Advantage green building consultant. "The Sullivans had a terrific vision of a sustainably designed and energy-efficient home that SunTerra helped mold and shape into the final product. And that product just happens to be one of the most energy efficient homes built in the country."

This is the second EnergyValue Housing Award winner that has gone through the Earth Advantage certification process. Both of them were built by SunTerra Homes. Earth Advantage has represented three other projects that have won the NAHB's national Green Building Award as well.