SEQUIM — One of the “outside benefits” to an energy-efficient home like his, David Large said, is the way extra insulation reduces the outside noise.
And while he may not be able to hear much road traffic, Large is hoping for some foot traffic during this Saturday’s home demonstration, part of a nationwide event to spotlight solar power and energy efficiency.
Large’s house, at 173 Griffith Farm Road, joins about 1,000 others across the country on a nationwide “open house,” co-sponsored by nonprofits American Solar Energy Society and the Solar User’s Network.
Participating homes and businesses will demonstrate how they have incorporated energy efficiency measures and solar power.
While some focus on the solar aspect, Large said his house focuses more on overall efficiency.
“I think energy efficiency is more important in this market,” he said.
Community members are invited to stop by Large’s home between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. His is a “net-zero passive home,” meaning it requires much less power than a conventional home — about a quarter less than current homes and a third less than newer homes, by his estimates — and then uses solar collectors to generate the residual energy required.
The home is so efficient, Large said, it’s able to fully power his electric car.
Other distinct home features include a sun room that provides much of the heat in the spring and fall months, and a monitoring system of actual energy consumption by various equipment.
The home may surprise some people, Large said.
“It’s an amazingly comfortable house.”
A sunroom with triple-pane windows and heat-absorbing tiles provides a large portion of the heat in David Large’s rural Sequim home, seen here in September 2018. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
The home is on display in conjunction with the Clallam County Public Utility District (PUD), which will provide brochures describing current PUD incentives for energy efficiency upgrades.
Large will be on hand to describe the project in creation and performance, talk about energy trade-offs and options and more. In previous demonstrations he leads groups of five to 10, walking through the house and showing them what energy-efficient upgrades look like.
The demonstration is a non-commercial event, he noted.
“I hope it motivates people,” Large said. “This is a chance for people who want to actually do something [about climate change, etc.] instead of just talking about it.”
Large got his start in energy-efficient homes back in the oil embargo era of the mid-1970s. He and his wife built a three-story home in the Santa Cruz Mountains in California.
With solar-powered hot water, double-pane windows and other features, “it was energy efficient right away,” he said.
In 2000, they built a second home, complete with a solar-based electric system to generate all of its power.
In 2010, they bought property in Sequim and moved in six years later, Large said.
“By that time the alternative energy … had greatly matured.”
The home was designed as a demonstration, but he lives there as well.
“I live in it, but I live in an experiment, so to speak,” he said.
There will be coffee and cookies for visitors, Large said.
For more about the national tour, see www.nationalsolartour.org.
Those unable to attend the tour but interested in the demonstration can contact Large at Dbiguy@aol.com.
