FOR SALE: 541 SW Maplecrest Ct., Portland, OR 97219, listed @ $529,950, call David for more details

This home is the amazing result of many minds being drawn together to create a superior high performance home. Taking its name, the Leapfrog House, from the notion of “greening further than most people dare to green,” this home aims to go beyond common expectations for how a home can perform. Each day that it awaits it’s buyer, someone is out there spending too much money on utility bills. I’ll save the mechanical details for their site, which outlines the construction techniques, mechanicals, and materials that you could pour over for hours. In essence, the home is intended to have the smallest carbon footprint possible–in the construction phase and over the course of its life. They thought of everything and did most everything–from harvesting almost all of the framing lumber and timbers at FSC-certified forests within a couple hours of Portland to burying two cisterns that store about 6,000 gallons of rainwater that can be filtered and sterilized for all uses in the house and for irrigation.

The almighty mechanical wall that makes this home perform exceptionally well

The floor plan allows for a multitude of lifestyles and living arrangements. The main living spaces are open and loft-like, with a couple loosely defined spaces that could used for multiple purposes. The plans also include nearly 600sf of space for an accessory dwelling unit  (ADU) above the garage, if that is what the buyer chooses to do. Or, it could be a home office, an art studio, a yoga and exercise space, or a massive master suite (if you’re so inclined). As it stands, it’s a 3-bedroom, 2-bath home with multiple bonus spaces that can adapt to different uses over time.

I highly recommend a tour, if you’d like to get a better sense of what sets this home apart. Contact me to set up a guided tour.[[Show as slideshow]]

If this type of home appeals to you and you’d like to explore other options within the Portland market, you can set up a search here, or contact me for a customized residential market search. This home is listed by Sandi Sheets @ Windermere Real Estate.

Energy Conservation Pyramid

All we need is a few good autumn winds to rattle the windows and remind us that winter is on the way. If you’ve been contemplating some energy efficiency upgrades, renewable energy incentives, or annual weatherization measures, here’s a helpful graphic to help prioritize which steps and upgrades will yield the best bang for the buck.

We are fortunate to live in the one of the country’s preeminent hotbeds for energy efficiency retrofitting. Between the Energy Trust, the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, the Earth Advantage Institute, the Cascadia Green Building Council, and the abundance of general contractors and specialists who have committed to educating themselves and training their crews to help residents make gains in energy efficiency and overall carbon footprint reductions, we have what it takes. One place you might start is the Energy Trust of Oregon’s Trade Allies. This is a group of service providers who have taken the necessary training to be able to provide you with services and expertise in what incentives you may qualify for.

Another great option is Clean Energy Works Portland, a utility-based financing program that allows homeowners to make improvements with no money out of pocket upfront. This is an excellent program that supports homeowners in the getting a jump on those elements at the bottom of the Conservation Pyramid.

Stay tuned for more updates on the programs that become available to us in Oregon. It is a growing industry and legislation is continually working on incentive programs to help fund the retrofitting of our existing housing. Contact me if you’d like more information about any of these programs or organizations. I’m happy to be a resource and provide more information on local service providers as well.

Stay warm. Be well.

Architecture 2030: The Road Before Us

Assembled by the Earth Advantage Institute, the Green Day Forum aims to bring together 100 thought leaders to discuss strategies for meeting the Architecture 2030 goals of establishing a carbon-neutral building industry. Topics range from Energy Performance Score implementation and incentives to current policy initiatives to funding sources to Passive House design and building standards. This is the short list. It’s an amazing agenda for the day. Former Secretary of State, Bill Bradbury, will be presenting among a host of other innovative thinkers in the architecture, construction, and renewable energy sectors of Oregon. I’ll be anxious to see the action items and strategies that come from this kind of assembly covering this much ground. Register here to participate.

The Green Day Forum will be held at the Earth Advantage Institute in Tigard, Oregon from 7:30am to 6:30pm on December 4th, 2009. The Earth Advantage National Center is located at 16280 SW Upper Boones Ferry Road Portland, OR 97224.