Energy efficiency atop Walnut Mountain

New home’s design targets long-term savings

The Ellijay design/contracting team of Art Smith and Richard Esparza recently received some good news they’d been anticipating. After teaming up to design and construct a model home atop Walnut Mountain which stands out from neighboring units in terms of design and function, the two were recently informed that their extra durable mountain home is a unique entry into Gilmer County’s real estate scheme.

More specifically, the home in question - a ranch-style cabin with a 1,304 square foot upstairs and additional basement - is thought to be the first home in the county to receive complete EPA Energy Star certification from the ground up.

“A lot of people have houses built only to code,” says the home’s designer Smith. “The building code is the minimum. Energy Star certification is another plateau entirely.”

(top) A new model home designed and constructed by local designer Art Smith and builder Richard Esparza recently attained Energy Star certification thanks to its airtight insulation and energy-conscious layout. The team used such inclusions as heavy duty hybrid timber trusses and a fireplace/wood stove unit (below, left), as well as Energy Star-rated appliances and low-wattage lighting (below) to attain the EPA designated certification. All photos contributed

Smith, who heads up Rocky Ridge Designs, points out that many homeowners are only familiar with the Energy Star designation as related to a cost- effective, energy-saving line of appliances. However, the inclusion of those appliances is only a small piece of a much more complex picture.

The house designed and built by Smith and Esparza, of Unique Mountain Retreats, is well-constructed, well-insulated and doesn’t face directly toward the driveway like many of its neighbors. Much of the reason why it is expected to generate lower power, heating and light bills has to do with the team providing open living quarters, additional heavy-duty insulation and reducing a glut of unnecessary ceiling space in the living room, kitchen and family quarters.

“A lot of people up here buy a home that’s perfect for a weekend residence, then move in permanently and with all the hidden maintenance costs involved they end up having to remodel,” Smith points out. “This type of energy-conscious home may run in the range of 15 percent higher for the mortgage, but if you go through and look at the eliminated upkeep costs for paint, wood stain, windows or what have you, over five-to-ten years it’s going to be very close to what an average house costs. What you’re getting out of that isn’t just low energy and low maintenance but, also, a more comfortable place to live.”

Smith, a longtime home designer and proponent of energy conscious building, had previously designed and lived in passive solar homes. This concept, he explains, is a step above the Energy Star classification meaning that more thought goes into the positioning of the house’s foundation and other features. “It’ s an extreme version of the Energy Star guidelines,” he adds. However, for a home to attain Energy Star certification it must undergo a series of tests and must be very tightly sealed, with no “leaks” emanating from doors, chimneys, windows and other entryways that allow air to circulate outside of the house in turn running up heating and cooling bills.

When combined, all the house’s specific structural details make up what Smith and many retired professionals might consider a “last home”. This reduced space alternative to the boom of million-dollar “McMansions” - large, two-story homes equipped with too much space and not enough reinforcement against structural damage and hidden added costs - was designed with the retired couple or, more specifically, aging baby boomers in mind.

“What’s happening now is that a lot of baby boomers are starting to either retire, move or get out of stressful, high-maintenance careers,” Smith relates. “Then, what becomes of all those big, elaborate houses they used to own? A lot of baby boomers only have one or two kids so they don’t have to buy these huge two-story homes anymore. A lot of them don’t want just a weekend home to go along with the big suburban McMansion. They want something smaller that they can settle into and not have to worry about recurring costs and high maintenance upkeep.”

Smith notes that declining interest in these McMansion-style homes, thanks in part to rising fuel and energy costs, has led to far more couples actively searching for a cost-effective alternative than in previous years. The cost of building a home similar to the one that will soon be open for open house viewing on Walnut Mountain is admittedly higher than a same-size structure built from less durable materials. However, Smith insists, again, that both the utility and upkeep savings which will accrue often outweigh the additional mortgage cost.

“I’ve been tracking energy trends for about 30 years,” Smith says. “Focusing on a moderately-sized, energy-efficient total electric home, rather than one also powered by gas, actually makes a lot of sense because electricity prices are going to remain more stable than the price of gas. We all know how drastically gasoline and natural gas prices have risen just in the past few years. Electric power will remain stable over a longer period of time and this type of design allows for the average monthly electricity cost to be even lower.”

From the way the stairs leading to the basement are positioned (not intruding into or “splitting” the main area) to the distinct style of hybrid trusses used, a great deal of forethought has gone into the design of what Smith calls an example of “Energy Star in the mountains.”

The installed wood stove/fireplace unit provides heat that requires absolutely no assistance from natural gas suppliers. Smith figures that if another unanticipated “springtime blizzard”, like the one which enveloped Gilmer County under snow and ice in 1993, were to occur a family could comfortably ride out the cold in the house without relying on a gas, electricity or central heating units to provide needed warmth.

“A lot of these energy-conscious designs grew out of the energy crisis of the 1970s,” Smith relates. “I’d designed and lived in a passive solar home for 20 years before moving here from Atlanta. The last year we lived there we were averaging an $82 a month total electric bill in a 1,900 square foot house.

I live in one, now, on Walnut Mountain and there are 20 to 40 degree winter days when the heat pump doesn’t even come on. Energy Star homes are a step down from a passive solar design but the savings are still very significant. ”

Though Smith and Esparza have ably met the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star requirements, they still have to wait on a final stamp of approval from Atlanta’s Southface Energy Institute before the entire certification is sealed and done. Smith says the test crew that recently visited and inspected the home was thoroughly impressed with its airtight design when conducting the crucial thorough “blower test.” With their already high marks in mind, the rest of the certification process shouldn’t be a problem.

Both Smith and Esparza are hoping that more potential homeowners will take into account the untapped benefits of their design before settling on a cookie cutter behemoth as opposed to a smaller, subtler and more efficient dwelling for their own particular last home.

“(Home construction) is a slow moving industry that’s very conservative,” says Smith. “Quite frankly a lot of homeowners, as well as builders, don’t understand the benefits of energy-conscious design. That’s why when we start doing the open house for the model home, it’s not going to be a run-of-the mill open house. We want to educate the clients. We need to say, ‘If you do these things that are hidden behind the walls, things that you don’t normally see (with the naked eye), you’ll come out much better in the long run.’ Change in this business is very slow and, odds are, it’ll take some sort of energy crisis to really change public opinion and push this idea to the forefront.”