Houston energy-efficient house
The Braes Heights home looks like a typical house for a family of four in the well-to-do neighborhood. It has three stories, six-bedrooms, a state-of-the-art kitchen, arching doorways and a sweeping staircase.
But what owner Ker Thomson, a Houston anesthesiologist, and his wife Rachel, a retired ballerina for the Houston Ballet, wanted was more than a typical house when they set out to build roughly three years ago. And now, the house at 3730 Drummond is possibly the first in Houston to earn a LEED Platinum certification, a “Fortified Rated” designation from the Institute for Building and Home Safety and the Zero Energy Ready Home certification from the Department of Energy.
“It represents a fundamentally different way to build a home and was designed for the U.S. Gulf Coast,” Ker Thomson said. ”It still has all the amenities and appearances of an elegant custom home, but we have changed the game behind the sheet rock. The short and long term benefits from this type of construction become obvious, especially when viewed as a complete package, or a system.”
Thomson partnered with Texas A&M University during the design and construction process. The highlights include an attic that is sealed and part of the conditioned space, walls that are insulated concrete form with 6.5 inches of reinforced concrete in the center, true triple laminated hurricane windows, LED lighting and a a roof that is made from screwed down metal shingles. The house also includes solar panels, rainwater harvesting and solar hot water.
The Houston doctor, who now also builds and retrofits homes like his own in the region, said his energy bills run between $150 and $300. He said similarly sized homes to his 6400-square-foot home would run over $1,000. He said he hopes people who decide to build their own homes will consider paying 15 to 20 percent more so that they have have more energy-efficient, healthy and well-built homes.
The U.S. Green Building Council is sponsoring a ceremony to recognize the house on Friday, Oct. 10 and a public open house on Saturday, Oct. 11.
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