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The Sewanee Inn, TN
Award winner
Habitat for Humanity Solar Duplexes Basalt Vista, CO
Colorado
Project Type Commercial | Multi-Family Residential | Single Family > 3000 sf
Year Completed 2021
Project Size 1504 sq ft
SIPS Used 6" GPS
Sustainable Features Native seed for all landscaping except front lawn to reduce watering demand, low VOW paint. All light fixtures were recycled from the Habitat for Humanity Restore.
Environmental Certifications Net Zero/Zero Energy Ready
Awards 2022 BEA Runner Up Affordable Housing
Architect 27578 Design Co
Contractor Habitat For Humanity Roaring Fork Valley
Project Overview
Habitat for Humanity Roaring Forks
"During the height of COVID, we needed to find an alternative to reduce cost while maintaining the building envelope rating. Basalt Vista is a net zero affordable housing community and constructing with Premier SIPS reduced the overall cost of the building project. In order to achieve net zero, the performance of the building envelope is crucial. Premier SIPS exceeded the minimum standard for the wall R-value."
Benefits:
Premier SIPS saved on labor and construction costs. Using SIP panels increased the R-value of our building envelope, increasing our R-value from R-21 to R-24. The blower door test results also improved. There were cost savings associated with the change as well since the insulation scope decreased. We also found that installing SIP panels was more volunteer friendly, which is important when working with Habitat for Humanity.
Innovative Elements: Because SIPs have OSB on the inside and outside, SIPs reduced the amount of shear walls required.
Certifications: Net Zero
Blower Door Test: 2.5-2.9 ACH50
Energy Use: 27.37 kBtu/ft^2 annually. 41,168 annually per home
Other:
- Air source heat pumps and mini splits, and 100% ductless
- Window average U = 0.29
- ERV for ventilation
- Heat Pump Water Heater for water heating
- Energy Star Appliances
- Induction Range
- LED Lights
- Solar panels – about 11 kW per home
Basalt Vista is an affordable housing, net zero neighborhood. Basalt is a rural mountain town of 3,984 people in Pitkin and Eagle counties, Colorado. Located between the larger City of Glenwood Springs to the North and the international ski resort of Aspen to the South, the town of Basalt was originally a railroad town and now is a thriving tourist destination. The wide gap between the high resort area cost of living (especially for housing) and actual wages paid locally makes it difficult to recruit and retain teachers and essential personnel within the community. These individuals hold jobs that are key to the well-being of children and communities but cannot afford to live close to where they work. While Habitat RFV has been building homes for lower-income families for 20 years, they have become increasingly aware of the acute need for housing for middle-income workers who provide vital services. A 2019 regional housing study projected that by 2027 there would be a deficit of 5,700 housing units in the region. This need is what brought about an extraordinary collaboration with the Roaring Fork School District, Pitkin County, and the Town of Basalt to build the Basalt Vista Housing Partnership—located behind Basalt High School—which provided 27 affordable, energy-efficient homes for teachers and others in the local workforce. Basalt Vista has created a model for affordable net-zero housing that can be adopted by communities throughout Colorado and across the country.
“Governor Polis has cited this project as an example for the state and nation for net zero building in an affordable way. The total project consists of 27 Net Zero homes.”
Find Your Local Rep
As the oldest SIP manufacturer, Premier SIPS offers a superior building envelope framing system for commercial and residential structures. Contact an expert in your region to discuss your next project or to explore the benefits and cost savings when designing and building with SIPs.
