Interiors

After the USGBC tour, we spent some time to decorate the interior, most notably with artwork by fellow designer and architect Nerin Kadribegovic. We also made a trip to Germany in May to visit Freiburg, the Route du Vin in Alsace and Basel in Switzerland and brought back 2 Gavina Wassily chairs for the living room (quite a logistical endeavor I have to say)- but they look great in the house. Our PV system has been producing a lot of power from the sun- with about four weeks into energy generation, we banked about 300kWh in surplus energy. The concept of using dimmable fluorescent light fixtures in conjunction with the high insulating properties of the walls, windows and roof (no A/C use this year so far) have reduced our energy consumption dramatically. We also had an energy audit performed and the home now scored 24% better than the California title 24 energy requirements due to improvements made during the construction phase of the project. We are now confident to achieve the high goal of “net-zero” over the course of the year.

USGBC Tour

Last Saturday's USGBC Tour was a full success and over 30 people took the tour of the Haus- It was also the first time we opened the cistern lid and discovered that it was full to the brink with rainwater!
We've been using the water to irrigate the plants, but the low water pressure led us to believe that there was almost nothing in it- well we were wrong. Our solar system continues to produce more than we use at this time (still no AC running) and we hope that we can build up a reserve before the heat of the summer hits us with $$$ in electric bills.
We also had the Solar water heater inspector in house to verify that the installation complies with the CSI requirements and the deck coating installer put on the last coat. We also finally cleaned the garage to a point that we can park the car inside. It's looking more and more like a house now...

Net Metering

Last week, the PV system has been inspected and put into service by LADWP. The PV’s have their own meter, indicating the amount of energy in kWh generated, while the city meter next to it shows the net-energy- i.e. the amount of energy used minus the amount of energy generated by the system. This net metering concept does not encourage users to maximize their solar potential and to produce more power than they need and in the end effectively still requires some power to be drawn from the grid- in contrast to other regions of the US and some countries in Europe, where the utilities want people to maximize their solar power generation in order reduce the need to build new power plants.
The good thing about the two meters is that we always see how much we are generating and how much we are actually using, so we are able to adjust our demand to maximize the effect of the PV array- Currently we are producing more than we need, thus the weird number on the net-meter. However, once the heat of the summer starts and we will be forced to use A/C. this might change.
The photo shows a 98 kWh generated and a net reading of 99992 kWh- so we have 8 kWh in reserve already- and counting…

Nob Hill Haus- Open to the Public

We're in (and enjoyed that gorgeous sunrise we had last week from our bedroom!). Now, that you've seen and read all about the Nob Hill Haus on this blog there's only one thing that's missing- to see the real thing. And that chance is coming! On April 30, the US Green Building Council's Los Angeles Chapter will feature the Nob Hill Haus as one of the main attractions of the Los Angeles area Green Home Tour: Here's the description:

"Join USGBC-LA San Gabriel Valley branch for a self-guided tour of six sustainable homes throughout the San Gabriel Valley. Locations include Pasadena, South Pasadena, Atwater Village, La Verne and Mount Washington. The Tour will feature single family homes, a condominium project, a single family home development and sustainable gardens that will showcase the latest in residential sustainable technology. The first ever permitted gray water system in Los Angeles, a rainwater harvesting system and a solar water heater will be on view. Additional sustainable features on the tour include: photo voltaic systems, permeable paving, a rain barrel, Energy Star rated appliances, bamboo flooring, natural cooling and ventilation, high performance glazing and a kitchen recycling center. The sustainable gardens include native and drought tolerant plants, drip irrigation, a composting center and a vertical infinity fountain. All registrants will receive their ticket and tour booklet at registration at the first house. Directions and descriptions of each of the locations will be included in the booklet. There is plenty of street parking available at the first house."

and the link to the website: http://www.usgbc-la.org/

Hope to see you at the Haus!

taking the final city hurdle

On Friday we finally passed our last inspection and today, we obtained clearance to get a gas connection. The gas company won't be able to come out until the end of next week, though. And we expect the touch up work to take another 4-6 weeks anyway.
This concludes the construction updates that have been a bit splotchy in the past months. Too many things have been happening at the same time and it was not easy to stay on top of everything. I will make the next post once we move in and will give then irregular updates about the performance of the house and - of course- how it feels to live in it.

Landscaping

Once the irrigation pipes were in the ground, we started with the installation of low shrubs and ground cover plants. With saving water in mind, we selected a variety of native and adapted drought tolerant plants -and checked them against the California invasive plants council (http://www.cal-ipc.org/list) to make sure we don't get anything we would regret later on. The photo shows the ground covers around the Dypsis Decaryi- We used the red paddle plants Kalanchoe Thyrsiflora with lavender and native Pentestemon. In the back you can see blue Agave Americana creating a dramatic contrast to the neighbor's greenery.

Drip by Drip

With completion only a few short weeks away, we’ve now started to install the drip irrigation which will be used in areas where plants don’t have access to the graywater pipes- We are using a mix of desert plants and drought tolerant Mediterranean species to reduce the water demand by landscaping. However, since the graywater pipes are only on the downhill side of the house (and we have landscaping on all 4 sides) we need to provide for additional irrigation. We decided to go with a low flow drip system- Home Depot has a good variety, but one should read about the subject before starting to install. First of all, drip irrigation works at a lower water pressure, so a pressure reducer needs to be put in place. Secondly, a filter needs to be installed as well to avoid the small emitters from getting clogged (emitters are rated in gallons per hour, rather than gallons per minute, as common for regular sprinklers). Care should be taken in laying out the risers (the visible portion of the pipes to which the drip lines will hook up. You have to make sure that you can reach all the plants that will go in after and also avoid having the unsightly black drip pipes in clear sight.
We expect to get our plants this coming weekend and -weather permitting- hope to put the first ones in the ground as well.