Notable Features – 1473 Luella St. Eugene, ORRMLS #11487352
by owner Ray Wolfe
High speed access – cable available in every room except bathrooms
Every room and the garage have telephone jacks except for bathrooms. The house is also wired withcoaxial TV cable to every room except bathrooms.There is a fiberglass cable connection for high speedcomputer use in the West upstairs bedroom.
The house is equipped with computer-facilitatingfiberglass cable for high speed video use and shortdownload times.
The home, built in 1989, is insulated caulked, and double glazed to qualify for the assignment as a Super Good Cents (energy efficient) Home as defined by Eugene Water and Electric Board. This house exceeds the energy efficiency beyond the “Super Good Cents” requirements.
Air leakage is the major cause of energy loss in “Super Good Cents” construction. Air loss has been substantially reduced above that of standard “Super Good Cents” construction. Special sealing gaskets have been built into inner walls wherever they intersectoutside walls. EWEBʼs blower door test indicated air leakage decrease by one-fourth compared toungasketed “Super Good Cents” construction.
The heat pump has a two-speed fan, one of which may be continuously operated. This decreases the amount of temperature fluctuation, improving comfort. The heatpump control permits programming differenttemperatures during the day or night hours automatically. The heat pump, installed in December 2008, has a transferable 10 year parts and labor guarantee. Theprevious heat pump was replaced after 20 years although it was still functioning.
The American Standard brand heat pump has higher than ordinary efficiency having an air-conditioning“SEER” rating of up to 17. The heating efficiency alsohas a high heating efficiency rating. These ratings areestimated to save a year round average of $30.00 per month in energy costs. Electricity is the sole source ofenergy so no direct carbon emission is possible.
The Copper Cricket solar water pre-heater is a uniquedesign which provides about half of the annual hotwater needed by two people. Winter efficiency decreases because of frequent overcast atmospheric conditions but 95 degree F. water can be producedwhen the sun shines during the shortest days of theyear. Maintenance costs are greatly reduced because ithas no electronics or moving parts.
A new electrostatic air purifier is continuously functional. This reduces grass pollen and house dust,important for hay fever sensitive persons.
Passive solar - South facing windows are larger thanordinary size to increase winter passive solar energy gain.
The kitchen has a point-of-use “on demand” hot water supply, a feature conserving energy otherwise lostthrough long delivery pipes from hot water heater totap, convenient if one wants to make hot beverages.
The kitchen is piped for water supply to the refrigerator should an ice cube dispensing refrigerator be installed.
ROOF The 30 year roof was installed in 2009.
OTHER CONVENIENCES Windows on the second floor can be washed from inside the building. The Western window in the firstfloor bedroom provides an emergency fire escape route.
Skylights in the living room make the house welllighted. Living room lights are rarely needed in thedaytime.
Two storage rooms are available, one off the East upstairs bedroom and a second in the garage attic.
Timer-controlled garden sprinklers (three circuits withan additional unassigned one) are very flexible inapplication of water. The unassigned circuit couldprovide automatic watering to plants on the cedar deck.
A remotely activated garage door opener eliminates manually opening and closing the door. The garage is insulated.
A wire connects the roof to the garage in anticipation ofroof sited photovoltaic energy collection for eitherelectric cars or feed into EWEBʼs distribution system using net metering or both. A note placed inthe covered box explains the purpose of this fixture.A potential active solar heat energy collection can beinstalled on the front porch.
Wiring to the house system is in place but unconnectedto a thermostat activated fan to circulate air from the glassed-in front porch to the house when active solar heating becomes cost-effective. Information on this andwiring instructions are in the electrical junction box inthe upstairs hallway.
The concrete driveway is steel reinforced. The house has been inspected. As suggested by the inspector,designated siding has been replaced (except for asmall portion that will be done when weather permits),caulking improved, and vegetation pruned back 12inches from the house except where brick facingexists. Also, the radioactive radon gas test was completed to test plastic cover under the house crawlspace. Radon was not detected in the test.