The word “home” is synonomous with many things, both physical and emotional. Home is shelter. Home is family. When Allen Associates came across the Doering family, they knew how important it was for the two to come together, a beautiful, healthy place to house their entire family — and they did this with being very environmentally aware.

Transforming the Doering’s typical, older Santa Barbara tract home into an exemplary “green” remodel was the major challenge of this project. Built in the 1950s when neither energy efficiency nor indoor air quality was even considered, this house, like many others similar to it, had opportunities to be transformed into a comfortable and healthy home with a low operating budget. The construction budget was limited so cost-benefit issues drove the planning and decision making.
The solutions that the “green team” — client, architect Thompson Naylor Architects, and contractor Allen Associates — came up with improving energy efficiency, creating a healthy environment and staying within the alotted budget.

One of the goals of the project was to improve the energy efficiency and overall comfort of the entire house. In keeping with this strategy, the team decided on filling all walls with polyicynene insulation. It is a nonozone depleting, spray-in foam that fills every little void in a wall, resulting in an airtight building envelope. “Icynene is not used much in California because it costs a little more, but its performance is significantly better than other choices, and it is ideal for a retrofit project,” explains Karen Feeney, Green Resource manager for Allen Associates. The new exterior walls built using studs at 24 in. on center both to save on lumber (20 to 25 percent) and to accommodate more insulation.

The attic was insulated to R-30 with cellulose insulation — a recycled product that creates an excellent barrier to sound and temperature penetration. In an effort to further reduce heat gain in the building, radiant barriers were installed under the rafters. Radiant barriers deflect up to 25 percent of summer heat gain — an excellent investment that will add only a small increase in cost over using traditional roof sheeting. A new whole-house attic fan removes most of the remaining heat and keeps summer indoor air temperatures at a comfortable level. The fan has insulated doors that automatically close when the fan is not in use. All of the bedrooms will have ceiling fans as a final element on the menu of cooling strategies.