Visited a net-zero house in Portland and saw some cool stuff

I went to a open house last month for a custom home in Portland that was built to be net-zero energy. The builder used these thick insulated concrete forms for the walls instead of regular wood framing. I was really surprised at how quiet it was inside even though the house was right on a busy street. They also had this heat pump system that handles both heating and cooling with just one unit outside. The big thing that caught my eye was the solar panels built right into the roof tiles so you couldn't even tell they were there. The whole house only costs like 30 bucks a month for electricity which is wild compared to my old place. Has anyone here tried building with those insulated forms? I am thinking about using them for my next project.

3 comments

3 Comments

walker.cole27d ago

Figured you'd post about Portland, bet the house cost more than my last three jobs combined to break even on that 30 dollar bill. Those insulated concrete forms are a pain to run conduit through compared to wood studs, had a buddy cuss them out for a week on a similar build. Cool idea with the solar tiles though, just hope Oregon's cloudy season doesn't make that math look real stupid real fast.

hunt.quinn27d ago

Nah man I used to hate on solar too but this actually changed my mind.

finleyh8927d ago

My buddy in Seattle put those same tiles on his garage last summer and after the first few months he was literally checking his app every day like it was a game. It's funny cause once you see it working you start noticing how much stuff in your life is just running on autopilot wasting power. Like my landlord still has those old school water heaters that run all night for no reason and my electric bill is double what his is even though he has a bigger place. The whole "wait for the payback period" argument falls apart when you realize most people just accept high bills as normal and never question it.