Welcome to the 2003 Energy Efficient House Tour!
If you need a ride or can provide a ride to the following energy efficient homes, please meet at the MUB Circle at 1:00 sharp on Saturday, April 26, 2003. The homes are open from 1:00pm–5:00pm.

The Kindred Home, Hancock
(pass the Co-op north into Sylvan Estates, follow the road to the left – 1016 Crestwood Dr. – big yellow sign out front)

Garfield F. (Skip) Kindred, Architect, was awarded a Five Star Home Grant from the State of Michigan in 1998 for the design of this 1,920 s.f. passive solar, super-insulated home and studio. In the past five years, the house has received international recognition as a model of energy efficiency at high latitude. 2002 average heating bills were $31/month and electricity bills were also $31/month.

Skip Kindred and Dave Bach, the contractor, pioneered design and construction strategies that are shared by Dave’s home and, in simpler form, homes that Skip and Dave designed for Copper Country Habitat for Humanity. Common features include:

• sites with deciduous trees on the south, if possible
• shallow frost-protected footings
• 2x6 walls with high density batt insulation and insulated sheathing, insulated slab, and doubled standard ceiling insulation
• airtight drywall
• low-e argon-filled insulated glazing
• thermal mass from porcelain tile floor over cement board, dyed concrete slab over XPS insulation, and fireplace brick
• 50-gallon water heater connected to hydronic fin tube baseboard radiation for backup heat
• heat recovery ventilation system
• energy efficient appliances
• compact fluorescent lightbulbs
• low-volume toilets and showerheads

Details of the Kindred Home will be available at the site in an article from Solar Today magazine.

2002 Habitat Homes, South Range
(from the bridge in Houghton, 5 miles south, right on Sixth St., second block -- first two houses on the left)

Habitat for Humanity International is an ecumenical housing ministry established by Millard and Linda Fuller in 1976. HFHI seeks to eliminate poverty housing worldwide and make decent shelter a matter of conscience and action. Key principles include “sweat equity” (housing partners spend hundreds of hours working on their own homes or other Habitat projects), no-interest/no-profit mortgages, and community support and participation.

Copper Country Habitat for Humanity, established in 1994, uses plans designed by Dave Bach, co-founder, and Skip Kindred. These conform to Habitat specifications of 1,056 s.f. for a three-bedroom house. The core plans are modified to suit specific sites and family needs. Houses cost $40,000 for materials and professional labor. Volunteer labor and donated or discounted materials and services help make these houses affordable. Assessed valuation of the 2002 South Range houses is $73,000.

Tony and Cindy Itoney and Rich and Sharon Nixon partnered with CCHFH in the summer of 2002. The houses share the basic energy efficient features of the bigger houses: shallow frost-protected footings, 2x6 design, airtight construction, low-e windows, water heater as backup heat, and heat recovery ventilation systems. Winter heating costs for these families used to be $200+ a month. Now the average is $50-60.

An entry from Skip Kindred’s 1997 journal says, “My feeling is that low income people need energy efficient and functional housing more than others as they have fewer dollars to be squandered on this aspect of their lives. As energy costs increase, more of their limited income will be diverted to heating their homes – properly designed houses will minimize the impact of these increases.”

The Bach Home and Workshop, Houghton
(SE corner of Douglass and Pewabic)

Dave Bach, of Bach Construction and co-founder of Copper Country Habitat for Humanity in 1994, designed and built this single family home and workshop for himself in 1999. The house is extremely comfortable both winter and summer and gives the sense of living a treehouse with its light and open feeling. Natural light, comfort, and ease of control makes this home and workshop a delight.

It is wood frame, two story with direct gain solar tempered strategy with radiant concrete floor mass consisting of colored concrete, which stores heat from 400 s.f. of south-facing windows. Backup heat is hot water radiant floor heating supplied by a gas-fired 40-gallon water heater, which also supplies domestic hot water. This house and workshop share most of the features of the Kindred and Habitat houses with the addition of the above-mentioned radiant floor heating, wood I joist floors, raised heel wood trusses, and window quilt nighttime insulation. Average monthly heating cost is $30.

Churning Rapids, the Kinzel/Kingsley Home, M203
(from the McLain State Park 203 / N41 stoplight at the west end of Hancock, drive 5.6 miles – just past Christensen Rd. on the right – behind wood-sided garage with red trim, #53044 on post)

Terry and Sue Ellen have created an alternative energy homestead with a 750 s.f. house, pond, garden, and chickens.
This home has a photovoltaic and hydroelectric system and provisions for energy storage and an inverter to allow excess electricity from the hydro and PV to be sold back to the grid.

The house is a modified super-insulated design with a slight trade-off in energy efficiency for splendid views from abundant windows. The woodstove uses about two cords of wood a season and a gas boiler unit supplies backup heat. The original homestead was 2.5 acres and additional acreage has been added over the years bringing the entire parcel to approximately 900 acres as part of the Keweenaw Land Trust, which Terry and Sue Ellen helped found.

To meet more folks involved in energy conservation efforts locally, contact:
•Copper Country Habitat for Humanity www.coppercountryh4h.org
•MTU Campus Chapter of HFH www.sos.mtu.edu/h4h
[Note: CCHFH & the Campus Chapter will be renovating this mining-era house in Calumet Township starting with a “Blitz Demo” during Orientation Week in Aug.)
Students Against Violating the Environment save-l@mtu.edu
Environmental Sustainability Committee mtugreen-l@mtu.edu

If you have general questions or comments, please contact Shalini Suryanarayana (shalini@mtu.edu) and please put "ESC question/Comment" in the subject line.

Electronic mail
If you have any questions on the recycling program at MTU: recyclinginfo-l@mtu.edu

General Information: shalini@mtu.edu

Webmaster: edoppwebmaster@mtu.edu