NW Idea House
We’re excited to be part of the 2021 NW Idea House, a project in Woodinville showcasing the latest and greatest building technologies, including solar. The NW Idea House is the result of a partnership between Lochwood-Lozier Custom Homes Remodeling & Landscaping and 425 Magazine.
Todd Lozier, the owner of Lochwood-Lozier wanted to promote sustainability and demonstrate energy independence in this home and had Puget Sound Solar install a fully expandable solar photovoltaic system which is also plug and play ready for an energy storage (battery) system.
There is plenty of room for system expansion including energy storage like Enphase Energy’s Encharge or Tesla’s PowerWall.
Aesthetics were an important consideration for the NW Idea House, so all-black solar panels with black frames were selected. The 5.78kw (kilowatt) solar PV system is comprised of 17 Made in the USA, (Georgia) 340 watt Hanwha solar panels, paired with 17 Enphase IQ7+ microinverters, an important component for this site because of shading issues. The home is tucked into a forested location and looks over a small pond.
There is roof space for additional solar. The two most productive locations, (sections 1 and 2) currently have 17 panels in place, (5.78kW) that will produce 4,469 kilowatt hours per year. There is room for another 9.18kw, (27 panels) of solar on the roof.
As noted, the home is ready to add energy storage if the new homeowners want emergency power when the Utilities electrical grid goes down. The current solar PV system is designed to shut down electrically when the Utility’s system fails so as to not unexpectedly energize the grid when workers are trying to repair it. This means no power at the house.
Adding energy storage (Tesla PowerWall or Enphase Encharge storage system) gives the house the ability to keep the power on when the Utility grid shuts down. With solar plus storage the house islands itself until it senses the Utility’s repaired the electrical service.
The NW Idea house already has a critical loads panel in the equipment room and an area where batteries can easily be added for emergency backup in case of a Utility power outage. The critical loads panel will direct electricity to the most essential electrical devices in the house when the main electrical grid goes down. Typically, critical loads include some basic lighting, refrigeration and/or medical devices but not air conditioning, hot water tanks, dishwashers and other devices that require large electrical loads.
There is a Tesla Roadster on display in the house, on loan from the LeMay museum. It is the 30th Tesla built. The solar PV system on this house produces enough electricity to drive more than 15,000 miles annually, avoiding 7.22 tons of CO2 emissions, every year!
There’s several charity components to the NW Idea House with Bellevue Lifespring (feeding children), Drive to a Cure (Parkinson’s Research) and the Alzheimer’s’ Association with Lochwood-Lozier committing to donate $30,000 to these worthy causes.
When you’re ready to find out if solar or solar+storage is right for you, please give us a call at 206-706-1931 or fill out our contact form and tell us about your project.