Ask developer Terry Britton where he got the idea for his “green” housing development — which opened last month in Boulder — and he’ll wax about sailing in the Caribbean.
“I was sailing with my kids in the Caribbean, and you have to figure out a way to keep the ice cream cold,” Britton said. “You’re definitely off the power grid when you’re on the boat.”
So Britton installed solar panels on his boat to provide power. The experience got him thinking about energy use in houses and how a move to green developments would likely be on the way.
Last month, Britton and his partners cut the ribbon on the first single-family home at Spring Leaf, a so-called net-zero energy-use development in north Boulder that is planned to ultimately contain six single-family homes and six townhouses.
While low-energy-use homes are nothing new to the Front Range, Spring Leaf is unique in that the energy used by the home can be offset — and in some cases overcompensated — by the energy created through the solar-panel roof and building materials such as high-performance glass and heat-recovery systems, say the developers.
“When we’re overproducing, we can actually sell that energy back,” said George Watt, the architect for Spring Leaf.
Britton has applied for Spring Leaf to receive LEED-Platinum certification, which the U.S. Green Building Council designates as the highest rating for energy-efficient buildings.
So far, the reception has been positive. While no one has signed a contract, about 40 potential buyers a week visit the property.
“We’ve had quite a bit of interest,” Watt said.
Developers attribute the interest to the “simplicity” and “elegance” of the design, a feature that they say has eluded earlier efforts to design energy-efficient homes.
“We really focused on keeping it simple,” said Ron Monahan, another Spring Leaf developer. “We wanted to build a house that our moms can run.”
That meant integrating energy-efficient features into the design of the house that would not have to be actively managed.
“The technology in the house is seamless,” Watt said.
The house also includes energy-efficient framing materials and all energy-efficient appliances.
For those who want to know exactly how much energy the house is producing or using, they can check it through a Web-based tool that is connected to sensors installed in the house.
The first completed house at Spring Leaf, which totals 3,880 square feet, goes for $1.2 million. Others will range in price from $850,000 to more than $1 million.
Starting as an infill project, Spring Leaf originated about five years ago after Britton and Monahan purchased the land. The two contracted with George Watt Architecture and other local companies to build the house.
The project was originally designed for 18 homes, but the group opted for 12 to ensure sunlight would reach every home.
“The goal with the Spring Leaf project was to say ‘Let’s push the green thing as far as we can,’ ” Monahan said.
Monahan is developing a project in Aiken, S.C., that will have 270 green homes.
