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SQFT Studios
Award winner
Soules Cabins
Washington
Project Type Residential | ADU & DADU
Year Completed 2024
Project Size 550 sq ft
SIPS Used 6" EPS Walls / 10" EPS Roof
Sustainable Features Premier SIPS / Locally sourced cedar siding and exterior trim used from trees that were removed from nearby property 18" / Porcelain tiles for elevated sidewalk and entry porches to protect tree roots, reduce impervious area, cutting carbon footprint of the walk by 75% / FSC-rated ACX plywood for all walls below 8' lighting cornice, reducing the carbon footprint of interior surfaces
Environmental Certifications Net Zero/Zero Energy Ready
Awards 2024 DOE Housing Innovation Award / Winner 2025 Building Excellence Award High Performance
Architect Zero-Energy Homes
Contractor Clifton View Homes
Project Overview
Soules Cabins
Coupeville, WA
End Use: The unique nature of this project was to create three nearly identical homes on a single 7,200 sq ft lot that share common elements such as, similar floor plan, same windows, doors etc. This project brings the popular trend of 'mini' homes and energy efficient living to Whidbey Island, WA - providing a solution to the missing 'middle housing' shortage.
Why SIPs: These cabins were unique as they were nearly the exact same layout, making the SIP construction even more efficient and quick to construct. Working in a limited space, the use of panels to build gave us the ease and ability to move safely and assemble the buildings easily.
Benefit of SIPs: Using SIPs on this project did save us time, labor and costs as there was less preparation on site to build these cabins. Once we received the panels, the cabins were constructed quickly and the floor plans were designed with virtually no interior walls, so there was very little interior framing required. Even though the City required one unit to have it's door on the street side, and other units to have their doors on the side, we were able to use the same window and door rough openings, just switching up the locations of each.
Innovative Design Elements:
- GWB was used only above the 8’ level for upper walls and ceilings, reducing joints and seams.
- A "Swing Arm” from an industrial supply catalog, made for use when unloading semi-trucks at loading docks, was used to provide flexibility in lighting the movable Kitchen Island.
- The movable kitchen island was made by bolting stainless steel shop cabinets together.
- The kitchen also featured a one-piece off-the-shelf kitchen stainless steel sink base with built-in drainboard top.
- We used a 24” stainless steel range, range fan, refrigerator, and 18” dishwasher, for space-savings.
- IKEA shelving units were used to form an armoire as a room divider, instead of having to frame a wall, and install unneeded electrical outlets.
- A powered Fantech HEPA filter provides balanced air flow for the off-the shelf range fan, also providing make-up air for the Rheem heat pump water heater.
Certifications:
- Indoor airPlus Qualified
- Energy Star Certified
HERS Index: -33
Blower Door Rest: 1.44 ACH 50
Energy Use Intensity: 27.3 before PV
HVAC: The inside ductless head is located in the livingroom area, but because the home is completely open, the heat distributes throughout the tight building envelope. The largest windows all face east and south, with the east-facing windows help warm the home in the morning and the south-facing help heat the home during the day. The thermal-mass slab absorbs heat energy from the sun and distributes it throughout the house.
Energy-Saving Materials Used:
- Triple-pane U.16 (average) windows
- R-10 perimeter insulation from top of foundation walls to footings
- R-20 full coverage under entire floor
Design Features: The heat pump water heater is located within the conditioned envelope of the house and within 10 feet of each of the uses of hot water, minimizing pipe runs. By drawing from the conditioned interior room air to supply the heat pump water heater, we increase the recovery rate by 50% with no increase in the total energy used.
Solar: 7.2 kW per unit, 21.6 kW total
Additional Client Comments:
From 07.20.24: "We received notice yesterday from the US DOE that for the sixteenth year in a row, we have earned a Housing Innovation Award (or its predecessor EVHA) for a project either built by CVH Inc. DBA Clifton View Homes, or designed by Zero-Energy Plans LLC, and built by others. Several years we have earned two or more of these awards in the same year, one of the very few Design/Build teams to have ever done so. This year's winner is a collaboration with our project owner, Jim Soules, to create some "missing middle" housing in Langley, WA, on Whidbey Island. These beautiful small homes will live big, but cost small, allowing workers of modest means to get into home ownership sooner. They are also loaded with enough solar panels to not only power themselves, but also an EV commuter car to also power the owner's transportation." Ted Clifton
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