Ben Walsh grew up in the construction business. His extended family owns some of the area’s premier construction companies and has long been building green homes and businesses. His own company, Green One Construction Services, is building one of the nation’s first production-scale “net-zero-energy” developments.

Sage Green is an 18-home development in Washington County. All of the roughly 1500-square-foot, detached, single-family homes enable a family of four to live comfortably using no more energy than their rooftop solar panels produce.

Keeping it simple
Obviously, you don’t get to net-zero just by installing solar panels. The homes also had to be as efficient as possible. “These are net-zero, not because the occupants leave the lights off or don’t cook at home,” Walsh says. “They’re designed for regular, household living by a family of four.” But, because his target market was mid-level mainstream rather than high-end efficiency enthusiasts, Walsh wanted to keep it simple.

“There was an absolute need to control costs,” Walsh says. “That meant not doing anything untried or unknown to my subcontractors.” On top of that, Green One avoided any products that weren’t fully tested and proven: “Our buyers aren’t guinea pigs,” he says.

Off-the-shelf efficiency
The measures Green One used are straightforward, tested measures. The lights are all standard energy-efficient CFL’s. The appliances are ENERGY STAR® rated. The walls are just a little thicker than normal; the windows triple- versus double-glazed. Behind the scenes, heat pumps and heat-recovery systems make the most of ambient energy or recover it from waste air and water — such as from dryers and showers. But even those systems are, essentially, out-of-box systems that sub-contractors can easily handle.

“The counter-flow wastewater heat-recovery drain unit, for example,” Walsh says, “takes a screwdriver to install — and it has an expected life of 50 to 60 years.” As hot water flows down the drain, incoming cold water circulates around that drainpipe and captures some of its heat. “It’s the perfect example,” says Walsh, “of the principal that for true efficiency, you steadfastly refuse to throw away energy you just paid for.”

Additional advantages
Aside from lowering energy bills, the efficiency measures at Sage Green yield extra benefit. Consider the significant reduction in carbon footprint (the garages are also pre-wired for electric vehicle charging stations) and that tax credits and incentives allow Green One Construction to sell these $300,000 homes for under $260,000. Or consider the rigid-foam layer placed between the home’s frame and its plywood shell: This ply-on-foam (as Walsh calls it) approach cuts heat loss significantly. But most interesting, perhaps, is that in tests at Oregon State University, it also proved to make walls dramatically more earthquake-proof.

“In a state that’s predicted to have a one-in-three chance of a major earthquake in the next half-decade,” says Walsh, “that’s a pretty great bonus.”

• Triple-glazed windows
• Air sealing to reduce are infiltration and ex-filtration
• Energy-efficient lighting and appliances throughout
• Heat pumps
• Heat pump water heaters
• Heat-recovery systems that capture energy from waste air and water, such as from dryers and showers
• Foot-thick walls that, beyond being well-insulated, are augmented by a ply-on-foam system Walsh is patenting for its seismic properties

• The homes at Sage Green use about 6,000 kWh of electricity annually, plus a small amount of natural gas for cooking and auxiliary needs. That’s about two-thirds less than a typical home in the Pacific Northwest. And since they’re powered by solar, these homes are 100 percent easier on the grid than standard homes.

• About $40,000/home, including Energy Trust of Oregon cash incentives and Oregon Business Energy Tax Credits.

• Low or no energy costs for a family of four to live comfortably
• Reduced carbon footprint
• Lower energy waste
• Less impact on the energy grid
• Supports energy independence
• Greater structural capacity
• Established, industry-standard materials and methods
• Enhanced marketing opportunities
• Reduced costs to builder and buyers through tax credits and incentives