OFF THE GRID – ABLE TO FUNCTION IN GRID EMERGENCY

“Before designing the home pictured above, I read one of Bill McKibben’s books and he speaks, at one point, about green features being planned into a home to every extent affordably possible. ‘If you cannot go off the grid, remain grid tied, and utilize every opportunity possible to use sustainable features.’ He equates it to having a backyard garden: you can have the lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes (solar HW, sealed crawl space, super insulation, LED lighting), and other items, but you still have to go to the grocery

store (the grid) to get much of what you need. However, in a “grid emergency,” you will have the home planned so you can function well with the sustainable features you have planned into your home.”

– Mark H. Kirkpatrick

Green Features:

Grid tied, but is super insulated and can function if there is a grid emergency
SIP/Timber Frame Hybrid with R-24 walls
two separate sections of the roof: 1) R-50 (great roof) 2) R-40 (the other roof)
Geothermal HVAC – 27 SEER with air to air heat exchanger
4 Bay garage with lower level of ICFs / stone and stucco
House with ICF foundation and sealed crawl space
Solar HW with back up
Indoor chimney with outdoor air and outdoor chimney – both chimneys have different hearth size openings and the required flue size variation to accommodate airflow and are full masonry fireplaces
Fully engineered home – NC engineer stamp on all detail!
LED lighting
Gas cook stove
Some Architectural Features:
Outside kitchen with fire pit
Generator for grid failure possibility
Half round gutters – all below grade “to air” drains
Porch timbers of flared butt cypress
Interior timber frame with some round log timbers in the kitchen and dining room
Site work as outlined on a thorough site plan and landscaping plan
Stone patios and porch