Morning Sun Net Zero House

Happy Valley, Oregon

Architect: Mathew O.Daby Design

Windows: 925 Series

Construction Type: New Construction

Design Standard: Net Zero Energy

Objective: Owner Doug Boleyn is an energy expert and with the Morning Sun project he set out to showcase the advantages of a Net Zero house.  Doug was fascinated with the opportunities and challenges posed by the design of a Net Zero house in the cloudy climate of the Pacific Northwest.  The solution includes solar PV and solar thermal energy generation, an air-tight building envelope and highly "tuned" windows.  Doug writes in detail about his goals and the process in his 2010 article for American Solar Energy Society.  Or listen to Doug's explanation of tuning here. 

Serious Solution: The 925 Series SeriousWindows in this project provided characteristics especially valued by the owners. To capture passive solar gains, they wanted a high solar heat gain factor, coupled with low U values. The builder, John Mead of Cellar Ridge Custom Homes, did his research and discovered Serious Materials windows, available from local distributor Viking Windows. Morning Sun is the first known residence in Oregon to use SeriousWindows.  Their choice allowed them to tune the windows based on the orientation of the house. Eastern and southern facing windows allow heat gain with very low losses; north and west facing windows block the excess gain. Learn more about the process of tuning Morning Sun's windows here.  The owners especially likes their handsome dark gray fiberglass frames and casement styling.

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