The beginning of the end for suburbia? (Denver, Aurora: home, to buy)

[rybert]

Originally Posted by Noahma

ya know, I am quite busy right now designing theses so called "Mcmansions" guess where the new builds are going? lol.

the ones going up within the past 10 years are not the ones that went up in past times. The clients are getting into the "green" design, yes you can design a 6000 sqft house to be more efficient than the cracker box homes built in the 20's that are stuffed into the city like sardines. I have several designs on my desk right now for clients that are 100% energy independent, they are equipped with enough solar panels to SELL electricity back to the grid. That could not happen in Denver due to the amount of shadow that is cast back on the houses that are 2.5' from the neighbors houses. People WILL still live in the suburbs and are still building out here.

living in the city does not mean you are automatically green, most of the houses built from the late 1800's to the 1960's had Newspaper insulation, or none at all, they had cloth covered aluminum electrical wiring and if they were built as boats they would sink like a rock due to the infiltration. Far from the "green" that some would make you think they were.

I don't think that 6000 sqft and efficiency belong in the same sentence. It's a little overkill don't you think?

People that live in cities inherently use less than their suburban counterparts, but that's not my argument... I want a more responsible city to take place. Rail, walkability, small business, local/regional resources, all need to be a part of our new suburban/node development.

[Noahma]

Originally Posted by mczabe

Sooo...where ya building these??? I gotta get me some of that!

Boulder County at the moment, speckled all over the place. Markel is building some of the solar houses up in Dakota Ridge Village in north west boulder, the others are in lots all over northern boulder, non really in the city itself.

[Noahma]

Originally Posted by Charles

Are you prepared for a return on investment of like 20 years or so?

it worksout to be 15 years, unless you pass the 10kw cap for imidiate payback by excel energy. Then it becomes a bit longer. Excel energy offers a 55% reimbursement for the system.

[rybert]

Are you aware of any large scale solar/wind projects in Colorado?

What's your take on the smart-grid being talked about for Boulder?

[Charles]

Originally Posted by Noahma

it worksout to be 15 years, unless you pass the 10kw cap for imidiate payback by excel energy. Then it becomes a bit longer. Excel energy offers a 55% reimbursement for the system.

By then the Japanese will invent electricity that grows on trees.

[Noahma]

Originally Posted by rybert

I don't think that 6000 sqft and efficiency belong in the same sentence. It's a little overkill don't you think?

People that live in cities inherently use less than their suburban counterparts, but that's not my argument... I want a more responsible city to take place. Rail, walkability, small business, local/regional resources, all need to be a part of our new suburban/node development.

but they can, Boulder county and city proper are requiring a house meet a certain HERS energy rating index to get permits. You get these permits by creating an energy efficient design, they must include local materials, good insulation and windows, sun spaces, and things like that, once you pass 4500 sqft you must meet a HERS rating of 10, which is 90% more efficient than the 2006 IECC code, you must have Geo-thermal pumps, solar arrays, and ever increasing amounts of insulation. a 0 rating with HERS is a Net 0 house, meaning it requires absolutely NO outside connections to function as a residence. I can get a 6000 sqft house to be 90% more efficient than a 1200 sqft. it does cost more however.

[Mikieo415]

Originally Posted by rybert

I don't think that 6000 sqft and efficiency belong in the same sentence. It's a little overkill don't you think?

Do you propose that someone should not live in a large house? Does that not fall in line with your agenda?

Originally Posted by rybert

People that live in cities inherently use less than their suburban counterparts,

Is that a fact or just a platitude? It sounds more like a non-statistic... something you can't prove but sounds catchy...

Originally Posted by rybert

but that's not my argument... I want a more responsible city to take place. Rail, walkability, small business, local/regional resources, all need to be a part of our new suburban/node development.

All major cities have mass transit, small business, local and regional resources (and national ones too). Why do you keep using the word "node"? Inward sprawl is not a reality. Only so many people can fit within the city limits. Take metro Denver for example. We have a net gain of population every year. Those people will have nowhere to live if we don't build more houses for them.

I don't think you will be happy in any city. Since you find house construction and materialism to be vulgar, Denver is not going to work for you.

[Noahma]

Originally Posted by rybert

Are you aware of any large scale solar/wind projects in Colorado?

What's your take on the smart-grid being talked about for Boulder?

I deal with Residential Design, I do not know much about the solar/wind projects, although I had heard that Excel wants to expand the windfarm they have in south east Colorado. I need to do some more reading about the smart grid.

we were talking about the solar aspect of design with one of our builders last week. When they get a subdivision approved, we want to set aside a few outlots and load them up with solar to help power the entire subdivision. That way we can have the cost of the solar array split between each lot. Not sure how we get all of these houses hooked up, but we were floating the idea.

the 6000 sqft home we have right now that is at 15kw solar power has a whopping 93 or so 3'x5' solar panels on its roof!!!

[rybert]

Originally Posted by Noahma

but they can, Boulder county and city proper are requiring a house meet a certain HERS energy rating index to get permits. You get these permits by creating an energy efficient design, they must include local materials, good insulation and windows, sun spaces, and things like that, once you pass 4500 sqft you must meet a HERS rating of 10, which is 90% more efficient than the 2006 IECC code, you must have Geo-thermal pumps, solar arrays, and ever increasing amounts of insulation. a 0 rating with HERS is a Net 0 house, meaning it requires absolutely NO outside connections to function as a residence. I can get a 6000 sqft house to be 90% more efficient than a 1200 sqft. it does cost more however.

That sounds like a plan to me. What about the infrastructure that serves these homes/compounds?

I guess I'll never understand massive houses... I'd rather read Dwell than Architectural Digest.

[Noahma]

Originally Posted by Mikieo415

Do you propose that someone should not live in a large house? Does that not fall in line with your agenda?



Is that a fact or just a platitude? It sounds more like a non-statistic... something you can't prove but sounds catchy...



All major cities have mass transit, small business, local and regional resources (and national ones too). Why do you keep using the word "node"? Inward sprawl is not a reality. Only so many people can fit within the city limits. Take metro Denver for example. We have a net gain of population every year. Those people will have nowhere to live if we don't build more houses for them.

I don't think you will be happy in any city. Since you find house construction and materialism to be vulgar, Denver is not going to work for you.

to add to this, we are now less than 2 years away from the start of construction of the North Metro and the North/West metro rail lines. This should help quite a bit to connect thornton, northglenn, boulder and loisville into denver.