Pamela & Catherine’s
San Rafael Retrofit

ABOUT THE HOUSE:

  • 1200 sq ft originally built for working class folks in the late 50s. Built cheap, not efficiently.

  • Increasingly hotter summer and colder winter. Growing vegetables has changed.

  • House faces south so sun warms us in winter, Evergreen tree to the west to keep the sun from beating down in the summer.

  • All changes done after saving money, so incremental.

 ENERGY EFFICIENCY:

  • DIY calking, weather stripping. Replacing windows over time. Light switched to LED.

  • Insulation: crawl space insulation added by Mr. Insulation. Incredible difference in winter.

  • Cool roof: Replaced the old shingles with Cool Roof Rating Council (CRRC) shingles.

RENEWABLE ENERGY:

  • Solar: 2014 Real Goods solar installed 14 panels for 3.2 kWh. When reroofing 2018, SolarCraft added 6 panels for a total of 5 kWh to cover having a second EV so all cars electric.

ELECTRIFICATION:

  • HVAC: Installed by Bellows Plumbing and Heating. Smart thermostat; we use it manually though because we don’t use much. Mitsubishi mini split heat pump installed in 2017 with two mini splits but with a heat pump large enough to accommodate an additional mini split when we could afford it. We just added the third. In the summer we are lucky to be able to open the windows at night and close up during the day if it becomes hot. This keeps energy usage down. 

  • Panel: upgraded years ago to 200 amp to install a small hot tub that was given to us. Cost too much to run, but upgraded panel made EV charger install easy. Strom Electric for upgrade electrical work…best ever!

  • Electric Vehicles: Bolt and 2 electric bikes to run local errands and have fun.

  • Induction Stove: just replaced our newish gas stove/oven with induction stove and electric oven. LOVE it! Getting rebates now from Electrify Marin and BayRen. Purchased at Martin Harris Appliance.

  • Heat Pump Water heater: Got rebate from Electrify Marin.

  • We have a dcbel V2H unit on order. Until then, we use inverter hooked up to the electric car 12 volt battery during a power outage to power a few appliances and lights.

SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS:

  • Natural Materials: marmoleum, organic wool rugs

  • Recycled Materials: countertops from recycled glass, kitchen table from repurposed barn wood.

LANDSCAPE:

  • Lawns removed and replaced by pollinators and nectar plants.

  • 19 fruit trees, four veggie beds. All fruit is collected, canned or dried that is not shared and eaten right away. 

  • Pesticide free for 20 years.

  • All plants either create food for us, bees, or birds.

  • Birdbath, barn owl box, plants for monarchs.

WATER CONSERVATION:

  • Low flow water fixtures

  • Laundry-to-Landscape graywater system for 5 fruit trees. Equis landscaping for rain garden and greywater installation and pollinator advice.

  • Down spouts run off to rain gardens to slow/sink the rainwater. Native sedges in the rain gardens have long root systems that help clean the runoff.

  • Drip irrigation used 

 POLLUTION MITIGATION:

  • Removed fireplace due to horrible air pollution from burning wood.