The installation team from Akeena Solar arrived at the job site this morning to install the mounting system on our upper flat roof.  Also, they pulled the ‘fish’ through the conduit to the storage space below the pantry.

At the same time, the two-person team from 88HVAC continued to connect the HDPE in the concrete piers on the West side of the house while Izzy backfilled and compacted the soil over the natural gas and electric conduit.

The week ended on a very positive note.

Installing the Solar Mounts on Our Upper Flat Roof

We worked with Akeena Solar to design our solar system so it would generate as much electricity as possible.  The East/West axis of our house is positioned within 13 degrees of due East/West and, on our upper flat roof alone, we have 624 square feet available for solar panels.  These factors meet two of the four requirements under LEED-H ID 1.5 Building Orientation for Solar Design.

For our latitude, the solar photovoltaic panels should be at approximately 23 degree tilt to optimize the generation of electricity.  Although we could have designed the system to have a single plane of panels then it would have been taller.  In addition, solar photovoltaic panels require periodic cleaning to maximize the production of electricity.

Since we had some space, but not sufficient space, on the roof to include walkway space between the four arrays of panels, we ‘terraced’ the arrays.  Terracing the arrays provides space between each array (row) of panels while reducing the shading of the panels by the array in front of it.

A non-terraced set of four arrays of solar panels would be taller than a terraced set and not allow easy access for cleaning the solar photovoltaic panels.

Terracing the set of four arrays lowers the overall height but requires more area for the panels. The wider the spacing between each array lowers the height of each subsequent array (the shading angle is 23 degrees for our latitude).

With the terracing, we required a frame for each array of eight panels.  These frames must be raised off the upper flat roof by mounts and these mounts will penetrate the roof membrane.  And, the conduit going from each array to the ‘combiner box’ must penetrate the roof membrane.

Detailed design on the mounts and frame for the arrays on the upper flat roof.

Duk Lee of Akeena Solar completed the detailed design of the layout and the frames (Sheet PV-1 and Sheet PV-2).  The onsite team was given the task to build the system.  The first step in building the system was to install the mounts on the upper flat roof and run the conduit on the lower flat roof that will be under the tapered insulation. 

Of course, the electrical and structural components of the system need to be inspected by the City of Monte Sereno …

The installation team from Akeena arrived on site as scheduled this morning.  They took care to park on Winchester Boulevard so their vehicles did not use any of the precious parking space on Via Sereno.  After an orientation and brief tour of the project, they set to work laying out the solar mounts.  Later in the morning, Duk Lee arrived to verify the layout was as designed.  As well, Ben Caschera, the installation manager with Akeena Solar came to the project site to see how his team was doing.

There were some difficulties with the ‘fish tape’ going through the dedicated conduit that will carry the DC and AC from the roof to the East Mechanical room.  No problem.  The installation team used a shop vacuum to pull a nylon string attached to a small plastic ‘balloon’ through the conduit.  Within minutes, the fish tape was then in place.

At the end of the day, Don Henderson, the senior person on the installation team, called for an inspection for Monday afternoon with the City of Monte Sereno.  After ensuring the site was clean and secure, Don called it a week.

Backfilling and Compacting the Trench for Natural Gas and Electricity

Izzy completed the backfilling and compacting of our trench this afternoon.  Completing the backfilling created a significant amount of real estate at the front of the property.  Also, it made the site much safer and easier to get around.  Izzy’s next task was to put the 4 inch pipe in place around the perimeter of the house that will take 100% of the water from the roof to our underground cistern.  He got a good start on this today and will finish it by Wednesday.

Connecting the Ground Loops

Justin and Michael from 88HVAC were on site again today.  They connected two ground loops in each concrete pier on the West side of the house.  Next week they will test the ground loops in each concrete pier for adequate flow and pressure.  If that test is OK, then they will connect the concrete piers and bring the complete ground loop inside the house to the West Mechanical room.

Overall, we’re continuing to make progress.  And progress is good.

Starting to lay out where the mounts will be located on the upper flat roof. The cool night resulting in very heavy condensation on the newly Tyveked roof.

Izzy was backfilling and compacting the trench for the natural gas and underground electric conduit.

The team from Akeena Solar installs the mounts on the upper flat roof. It was a beautiful, blue-sky California day (again).

The acorn nuts can now be covered with the tapered foam insulation such that the member will not be damaged over time.

Don Henderson, from Akeena Solar, in an animated telephone conversation on our upper flat roof.

Conduit that will take the AC lines from the North gable roof to the East Mechanical room.

Don reviews progress.

The solar mounts are looking good! The tapered insulation will cover the solar mounts.

Don Henderson calls it a day. And a week. The team from Akeena Solar will be back on Monday to finish the last items and then the City of Monte Sereno will inspect the progress on Monday afternoon.

Other than the location for the new electric service box, the trench with the natural gas and electric is backfilled and compacted. The pile of dirt is much smaller now!

After taking the flag down, Bryan smiled and took one last picture of the solar mounts on the upper flat roof.

It was Los Gatos Little League Day today and we were there with Nik and Kate for the opening ceremonies (Nik is playing AAA on the Red Sox and Kate is playing Machine Pitch with the Orioles). 

After the ceremonies, Jo-Anne walked with Nik and Kate a few blocks to Starbucks to burn some energy and get some coffee.  Our neighbor, Kel Marchbank, was there and said, ‘Saw you guys in the San Jose Mercury News today.’

Way, way cool …

San Jose Mercury News, April 4, 2010

How Eichler’s ‘California Modern’ is going green
By Judy Peterson
Bay Area News Group

When real estate developer Joseph Eichler started building homes in Northern California in 1950, he targeted middle-class home buyers who appreciated the houses’ light and airy architecture that eventually became known as California Modern. With skylights and floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out onto gardens, patios and pools, the houses reflected Eichler’s vision was to “Bring the Outside In.”

Fast forward to the 1960s, when Eichler set his sights on Monte Sereno, building a 16-house subdivision on Via Sereno, off Winchester Boulevard. One of those Eichlers is being rebuilt to reflect what could well be called California Green. The new California style is sustainable, healthier homes, with many homeowners trying to achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification.

Homeowners Bryan and Jo-Anne Mekechuk bought their 1969 Eichler in 1997. At the time, they had no children. Now they have two, plus they needed room for visiting grandparents. So, it was time to remodel.

At first, the couple considered adding a second story.

“A second floor on an Eichler is not appropriate,” Mekechuk says.

Instead, they took the house apart board by board and dug a basement. Even so, Mekechuk says the home will remain true to Eichler’s vision.

“We kept all the design,” Mekechuk said. “The footprint of the house is identical. For example, the garage door is in the same place.”

Well, almost identical. Besides the basement, 18 square feet was added and three windows were moved. But two windows at the front of the home are identical and Eichler’s trademark atrium will be rebuilt.

Mekechuk is reusing 100 percent of the original home’s redwood boarding, while adding structural insulated panels-styrofoam insulation sandwiched between plywood. Mekechuk gets LEED points for that. The LEED rating system gives homeowners points that, when added up, can determine if a house is LEED certified or if it is certified as silver, gold or platinum. Mekechuk is shooting for platinum.

The Mekechuks also get points for holding educational open houses.

But it is the guts of the house itself that will determine if they reach their platinum goal. That’s why a cistern was dug to capture rainwater that will irrigate drought-tolerant plants. Polished concrete floors are a key element as well.

“It’s easy to keep concrete clean, plus it doesn’t trap dust and dander,” Bryan Mekechuk says. The concrete floors are composed of 70 percent slag. “Slag is a byproduct of steel production. Slag usually goes to the landfill,” he adds.

The house will be heated and cooled by a geothermal system.

“Geothermal takes warm water out of the ground and uses it to heat the house through tubing in the concrete floors,” Mekechuk says. “Cooling is the reverse of that.”

Mekechuk also plans to put 48 solar panels on the roof.

“Monte Sereno is really pulling out all the stops to encourage this kind of project,” Mayor Don Perry said at a recent open house. “We’ve waived all permit fees for solar panels. We’re really proud of this project.”

Mekechuk expects his new “Eichler Green” to be completed by late October.

© San Jose Mercury News.

We enjoyed hosting almost 100 people today at our second of six Collaborative Informational Sessions. 

The day was structured with an open house from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm, with a formal 60-minute presentation at 10:30 and 1:30 pm.  The Mayor of Monte Sereno, Don Perry, and Vice Mayor, Lana Malloy, opened each formal presentation.

Cleaning Up the Site from the Rain Last Night

It poured last night so we were scrambling to clean up the site and get rid of the water this morning. 

Dave Edwards (Earth Bound Homes) had several of his team on site helping to unbutton the site, pulling back the tarps and cleaning up the water. 

Eric Venzon (Teamwrkx) had his safety superintendant, Craig Butcher, ensure the site was safe and that signs were in place for our visitors, and had Dustin Barclay set up the presentation screen and provide electrical connections for the computers and projects.

Dave Stevenson (Insulspan) arrived and coordinated the presentation equipment so we were good to go.

John Rider (Jrider+Design) had just picked up the three new overview signs profiling the key green features of our house from San Jose Blue.  He placed these boards in three strategic locations around the house so our guests could identify and understand the various functions and benefits of the green features as they toured the house today.  The new overview sign is excellent (click here for a PDF).

Hosting the Morning Collaborative Informational Session

The sun came out and warmed the project site, drying up the pooled water all over the site.  And then our guests started to arrive.  Darrel Kelly (Builders’ Energy Services) stepped in graciously to receive each guest.  Darrel ensured that all of our guests signed a Site Tour Release form (waiver of liability), received a green Teamwrkx wrist band noting they had done so and then they entered the house.

We held a Q&A session on the ground floor where Eric introduced Bryan to respond to questions from the guests.  During this time, Don Perry (Mayor of Monte Sereno) and Lana Malloy (Vice Mayor of Monte Sereno), Perry Haviland, Architect of Record (Haviland Associates Architects), and Bill Brown (Bill Brown Construction) arrived.

Both Don and Lana spoke briefly, outlining how the City of Monte Sereno supported this project and are actively working with citizens of Monte Sereno to encourage ‘green building’  Specifically, Don outlined how the City had changed their ordinances to allow window wells in the setbacks, which was required prior to our project receiving our building permit.  Also, Don explained that the City Manager, Brian Loventhal, is updating Monte Sereno’s sign ordinance to allow a sign under the LEED for Homes program (which is currently prohibits signs that would qualify under the LEED-H criteria).

Then, everyone went to the lower level for Dave Stevenson’s AIA accredited presentation on Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs).  After Dave’s presentation, Dave Edwards presented an overview of green building, providing examples and insight that he has gained over the past eight years with Earth Bound Homes.

The group moved upstairs, into the warm sunshine for a final look at the house and to see some of the details that our presenters had explained.

Hosting the Afternoon Collaborative Informational Session

The weather continued to improve and it turned into a beautiful, blue-sky California day.  Don and Lana returned to open the afternoon session and Judy Peterson, the local writer from the Los Gatos Weekly Times, was on site to cover the event.

We were especially pleased to have several students from Richard Holman’s classes at De Anza College attend our event this afternoon (Richard’s first visit to our site was on Saturday, February 6, 2010).  Richard teaches classes on building performance and energy systems.  As well, Jerry Kauffman came to the site today.  Dave Stevenson is presenting to Jerry’s Wednesday class tonight at San Jose City College.  Jerry and Bryan will coordinate a field trip for his students to visit our site next Wednesday, March 17 (St Patrick’s Day!).  Today’s students are tomorrow’s leaders in sustainable building so we encourage and support their visits to our site.

The author of the first book on Eichlers, Jerry Ditto, stopped in to see our progress.  Jerry, who wrote Eichler Homes:  Design for Living, has been involved in our project since the beginning and testified at the Site & Architecture meeting where we received our Site Development permit.  Interestingly, Lana Malloy, who is now Vice Mayor, was on the Site and Architecture Commision at that time.

Wrapping Up

After everyone left, we decided not to wrap the house with tarps as the overnight forecast was for clear skys.  Jo-Anne arrived and climbed the ladder to see the lower roof in the warm sunshine.

It was a good, full day.

(Left to right) Darrel Kelly receiving guests and having them sign Site Tour Release forms. Toni DeWaal and Patrice Green were among our first guests. Maria Dohadwala (white hard hat) had just signed in.

John Rider (Jrider+Design) put together a new overview, profiling the green features of our house. These boards helped our guests to identfy and understand the functions and benefits of the various green features around the house today. We had our iMAC running the ArchiCAD model so people could see how the remodel will look in three dimensions.

Just before the formal presentation started, Bryan provided an overview of the project and then answered questions from the group.

After the group moved to the lower level, Don Perry (Mayor of Monte Sereno) opened the presentation on behalf of the City of Monte Sereno.

After Don Perry spoke, Lana Mally (Vice Mayor, Monte Sereno) stepped into the sunlight and took the stage.

Dave Stevenson, from Insulspan, presented the AIA-accredited session on Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs)

There was a full audience for Dave's presentation.

Meanwhile, on the ground floor, Joel Lemons (Jrider+Design) was reviewing the green features (somewhat loudly) of the house with both Vivienne Kelvin (left) and Wendy Parker (right).

And, Bill Brown (left) and Bryan were answering questions on the ground floor, too.

The presentations were the very first use of our home theater, in the lower level. Note the water from the heavy rains last night.

Dave Edwards (Earth Bound Homes) presenting during the second session in the afternoon.

When Dave Stevenson presenting during the afternoon, when it was much warmer in the lower level.

The second presentation went very well.

Using one of our 12-1/4 inch SIPs, Dave Stevenson explains how SIPs are manufactured and why SIPs have more strength as a composite building material that the indivdiual components by themselves.

Some interested guests climbed the ladder and walked around the SIP roof. It was much warmer in the sunshine of the roof. Eric Venzon (left), Teamwrkx, Shannon McElyea (center) and Rory Faber (right), Stramit International.

Jerry Ditto (left) and Bryan, in the Garage.

Paul Dodds (left) speaking with Bryan on the roof.

Bryan, pausing to enjoyi the warm sunshine on the roof.

We've been working with John Rider (Jrider+Design) since July 2008.

Jo-Anne, on the roof, at the end of the day.