1st Time Achievements

• 100% Waste diversion - Deconstructed the existing structure by recycling and reuse. Nothing went to landfill. This is the first project to achieve this goal in Santa Monica California.
• PUNCHouse 234 has been accepted in the Case Study Program by Southern California Gas Company, a Sempra Utility.

Community Outreach

• Habitat for Humanity obtained items not reused for the new structure and sold them through their building products retail store.

• ECHS – Environmental Charter High School located in lawndale, CA is an award-winning public charter high school with a unique experiential learning design for college prep. ECHS used PUNCHouse Project 234 as a learning tool to better understand how to build a sustainable structure. The onsite construction trailer was built from the materials of the old existing home. We used this opportunity to develop a program where the graduating class will learn how to build an 8' wide x 20' long trailer that will then be used on their campus as a learning lab or student council room, etc. Each graduating class will have the opportunity to give back to the school by building one of these trailers and also learn at the same time.
  • Ranked in top 3% of Public High Schools by U.S. News & World Report
  • 2010 Race to Top Commencement Challenge Finalist to have President Obama give commencement address
• An alliance with the National Resource Defense Fund (NRDC) helps to develop awareness of sustainable building methods and lifestyle used in PUNCHouse Project 234.

Deconstruction

• Waste Management worked with PUNCHouse Project 234 to help deconstruct the existing structure rather than demolish it. This way, all the reusable material could safely and easily be donated to Habitat for Humanity. The remainder of materials were sorted for recycling on-site and delivered by Waste Management directly to their respective recycling centers.All told, we helped recycle 60 tons of wood, concrete, drywall and metal. Roughly another 60 tons of wood, brick, stone, windows, doors, cabinets and fixtures were donated to Habitat for Humanity. And it all added up to a 100% diversion rate.

General Building of Core & Shell

• Foundation and all masonry using concrete mixed with 30 percent fly ash.
• Eco Building Products is the premier manufacturer of proprietary wood products coated with Eco Red Shield™ an exclusive non-toxic, eco-friendly chemistry that protects against mold, wood-rot, termites and now fire. In addition, our products virtually eliminate the need for pesticides to control termites, not to mention the costly repairs and remodeling associated with termite damage and wood-rot.
• Goldbrecht window and doors are made from high-quality aircraft grade recycled aluminum.
  • All units were made with a thermally broken profile for exceptional energy performance. Aluminum frames normally allow heat or cold to be easily conducted into the interior of the home. The thermal break acts as a barrier and stops heat or cold from entering or exiting the home. Furthermore, it prevents condensation from occurring on the interior of the windows when the interior and exterior temperature differs.
  • Use of dual insulated high performance Low E glazing with exceptional U-values
  • Windows are equipped with special multipoint locking hardware for exceptional weatherproofing and therefore higher energy efficiency
  • The integration of the Vitrocsa Invisible wall sliding system into the project is a fine example of how exceptional energy performance can be combined with extremely thin sightlines and unusually large sizes. The Vitrocsa sliding door system can be built to a panel size of over 100 sqf while still featuring only a 3/4" profile, the slimmest in the world.
• Henry open & closed cell spray foam hybrid insulation creates minimal heat transfer & thermal bridging with sound deadening properties.
• Using Henry Enviro White Roof Coating #HE687 will help you protect the environment by... • reducing roofing waste sent to landfills. • reducing “heat island” effects by reflecting 88% of the suns rays. • reducing air pollution.
• PEX Plumbing used instead of traditional copper plumbing.

• High Efficiency Lighting using LED technology by Revlite reduces energy consumption 85% when compared to traditional lighting sources.
• Panasonic ENERGY STAR® rated ventilation fans to improve indoor air quality. “Panasonic stresses a ‘build tight, ventilate right’ platform to remind us of the importance of pairing these insulating methods with proper home ventilation,” said Ling. “We knew by choosing to install energy-efficient Panasonic ventilation fans in the home that we’d be moving one step closer to our goal of living a healthy, green lifestyle.”
• Thermostatically controlled skylights throughout the home open automatically to keep the structure at a consistent temperate for passive ventilation.
• No formalized Air conditioning. Passive cooling design through natural air flow.
• Passive Solar Panel System supplies hot water to the Radiant Heated floors as well as all domestic water heating needs & heating of the swimming pool.

Solar Photo Voltaic System

• An 18kw Solar photo voltaic system using panels by Sanyo will help us achieve a Net Zero Structure by creating energy for the home as well as the electric cars.
• Phat Energy designed and installed the 18kw Solar photo voltaic system. 64 PV panels were used to obtain enough energy to power this home and electric vehicles plus store the additional unused energy in an advanced lithium ion battery backup system by GESS that will sell the unused energy back to the power company.
• GESS (Global Energy Storage Systems) is an Energy Storage System that works in conjunction with the Solar array, enabling it to provide electricity at night or when the Power Grid is down. Energy comes from the solar array, is stored in the Storage System (batteries), and is always available to automatically provide electricity for critical needs in the house. Clean, safe, easy installation with no maintenance. Long lasting with up to 15,000 charging cycles (up to 40 years).
• Schneider Electric, manufacturers of electrical components which invert the solar energy into a usable commodity.
• Juice Bar automobile charging station taps into the P.V. solar panels and GESS battery storage system to provide free energy for charging electric vehicles.

Rainwater Collection - Landscape

• Bio-Solutions & Orenco Systems created an underground 5000 Gallon Rain Water harvesting tank that will supply all of the needed water for irrigation.
• Landscape design with drought tolerant California native plants incorporating a Rainbird high efficiency irrigation system. The ESP_SMT irrigation controller utilizes historical and real-time weather data to determine the on-site current weather conditions and optimum watering needs of the landscape.
• Smartgrass synthetic turf has the appearance of a golf course quality turf with low maintenance and zero water used to keep this lawn looking perfect.

Swimming Pool

• Barrier Reef Pools are fiberglass and therefore do not need harsh chemicals to keep the water clean. Concrete pools breed and hold bacteria, need to be re-plastered and crack. Barrier Reef Pools need very little maintenance and will keep your water clean with the same amount of salt as a human tear.
• Pentair - A recent study by California utility Pacific Gas & Electric concluded that among its customers pool pumps were “almost always the largest single electrical end-use” in a single-family home. Switching all of the nation’s 5 million in-ground pools to a Pentair variable speed pump would save more than $3 billion or the output of 16 500-megawatt power plants. The UltraTemp heat pump used in this pool produces up to 5.8 times more heat at the same cost as a conventional gas or electric heater. A salt chlorine generator converts a small amount of ordinary table salt—roughly a teaspoon per gallon—into pure chlorine. The pool owner no longer needs to buy, store, and add harsh chlorine products manually. The LED lights used in this pool use only 70 watts to create the same light output as a typical incandescent pool light does at 500 watts.
• Pool Cover Specialist keep the water where it needs to be. In the pool with little evaporation and greatly increases the water temperature to lighten the heating load of the pool.