WSI plan for 3 bedroom, 2 bath                                               WSI constructed home, Ferndale, WA

passive solar home, recently approved

Buildings account for one-sixth of the world's fresh water withdrawals, one-quarter of its wood harvest, and two-fifths of its material and energy flows.  Building "green" is an opportunity to use our resources efficiently while creating healthier buildings that improve human health, build a better environment, and provide cost savings. 

Western Washington Soar designs and builds energy-efficient quality "green" homes.  Our commitment to energy saving includes the use of solar space heating, super-insulation, and green building practices.  We use the best craftsmanship and materials to create homes that are beautiful, functional, and energy efficient.  Our homes add a unique dimension to the real estate of Western Washington.  We work closely with you to design a custom home which meets your specific needs and budget.  Together with our partner-builders, we can take your building project from preliminary concept through completed construction.  

Key Benefits

How Does It Work?

A green building, also known as a sustainable building, is a structure that is designed, built, renovated, operated, or reused in an ecological and resource-efficient manner. Green buildings are designed to meet certain objectives such as protecting occupant health; improving employee productivity; using energy, water, and other resources more efficiently; and reducing the overall impact to the environment.

Elements of green building include:

Your home by Western Washington Solar will have all the elements listed above.  In addition, if your building site is exposed to southern sun most of the day, solar energy can provide the majority of your space heating, hot water, and electricity.  Solar homes take advantage of the huge heating potential of the sun.  Solar homes are comfortable, affordable, and energy efficient.  Despite cloudy overcast winters, Western Washington State is one of the best areas in the United States for solar space heating.  With proper design and construction, homes here can derive 70% of their annual heating requirement from solar energy.  With increasing energy costs, a 2000 square foot home could save $35,000 in heating costs over 15 years.  We design and build both active and passive solar homes.  Active systems use either air or liquid solar collectors and circulate the heated fluid to the home interior through ducts or pipes.  In contrast,  direct passive heating requires no active pumps or heat distribution system.  In both systems design and construction adheres to certain principles, namely:

1. A building site having a mostly unobstructed southern exposure.
2. Placement of a large percentage of the windows on the south side of the house to maximize heat gain (in a passive system).
3. Thermal mass such as stained concrete or tile slab floors, or masonry or water tube walls to store heat.
4. Good insulation to retain the heat and reduce loss.
5. Properly designed roof eve overhangs to shade windows in summer (to prevent excessive heat gain), but allow nearly full sunlight to enter the house in winter.

What Does It Cost?

Construction costs are usually little or no more than other homes of similar size. 

We can provide any one or all of the following three services:

1) Initial planning.  We generally meet with clients two or three times (our consulting fee is $80/hr) and then develop a preliminary plan including floor plan and general material specifications.  As an example, for a typical 2000 square foot plan will generally cost about $1000.  

2)  Approved construction drawings. If you decide to proceed and develop a custom building plan, costs for construction drawings suitable for a building permit are generally about $2.20 per sq ft.  Of course, if we use one of our existing plans with few changes, the cost is minimal.

3)  Construction.   Our Authorized Partner-Builders will construct your custom home on your site.  A contract is prepared, including a list of specifications, estimated costs, and schedules.  Once plans are approved, construction generally takes 6 to 8 months.

Get a Quote - Download Questionnaire

More Information

Building Materials: What Makes a Product Green

Establishing Priorities with Green Building

Checklist for Environmentally Responsible Design & Construction

Sustainable Building Technical Manual