A Seattle-based sustainable home builder plans to transform a neighborhood into a community of net zero ready homes.

Dwell Development LLC, a Seattle-based sustainable home builder plans to transform a neighborhood into a community of net zero ready homes.

Dwell has completed three new 5-Star Built Green homes in the Kirkland development. The 3,500-square-foot single-family home and 3,100-square-foot townhomes are part of Dwell Development’s plans to transform the Eastside into a community of net zero ready homes.

After receiving national recognition last year for their Emerald Star project including being named the Grand Winner in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Housing Innovation Awards, Dwell Development was inspired to commit to a new level of building in 2017 and beyond: exclusively net zero.

The builder’s goal is to build every home with the ability to produce the same amount of energy as it consumes, reducing carbon footprints and energy bills.

With over ten years of experience building green homes, Dwell Development has tweaked and fine- tuned the recipe for building net zero. At the heart of their strategy is remaining local.

It starts with an urban site in a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood where homeowners can live within blocks of all essential services and social activities. The Dwell team stays local for materials too. They are always on a quest to find more sustainable materials, such as lumber from a dilapidated barn slated for demolition. Other key ingredients for net zero building include a solar-ready rooftop configuration, high impact insulation, triple-glazed widows, LED lighting, and a state-of-the-art heat-recovery ventilation system to regulate the temperature inside the home 24/7.

Dwell Development goes beyond energy performance when building green homes by paying special attention to architectural design, interior finishes and fixtures. The open, light-filled floor plans are intended for families to share, while the bedrooms provide quiet, private space. When it comes to materials, reclaimed wood is carefully sought out from suppliers for the flooring, stairs and exterior siding.

Water conservation is also a huge focus. Dwell Development’s homes save an average of eight thousand gallons of water per year by using all WaterSense certified fixtures by Grohe and Niagra toilets that only use .8 gallons per flush (80% less water than the average toilet in the U.S.). Kitchens are also complete with a full set of Energy Star appliances.

The new Kirkland homes contain all of the ingredients in a beautiful lakefront neighborhood twenty minutes from Seattle. Located less than a mile from the heart of Downtown Kirkland, aligning well with one of Dwell Development’s core principals: walkability, “we only build homes in walk-able, urban neighborhoods because the key to sustainable living is using your car less,” says Anthony Maschmedt, principal of Dwell Development.

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