Sept. 20, 2024

If you want to see a sustainable home that’s stood the test of time, check out the Westbrook House in Fairview next month.

North Texans can tour the home during the National Solar Tour, hosted by the American Solar Energy Society on Saturday, Oct. 5. The residence at 440 Lakewood Drive is only one of six stops in Texas with the others located in Irving, Waco and Austin.

The home north of Dallas was designed nearly 30 years ago by Paul Westbrook, a former Texas Instruments sustainability manager and author of The Joy of Efficiency. Today, the 2,700-square-foot two-story abode is still a model of energy efficiency and eco-friendliness.

According to Westbrook, the house uses about one fourth the amount of energy and one eighth the amount of water of conventionally built houses of similar size.

The layout includes a geothermal energy system, a shell made from structural insulated panels, and both passive and active solar features — all components that were considered cutting edge in the mid-1990s. 

The design was so pioneering that when Westbrook sought out a home builder, several turned the job down.

“I knew I needed a strong builder who would understand what I was trying to do and help execute it properly and I almost gave up,” said Westbrook, recently by phone. “I kept talking to builders, and they would be like, 'Oh, I'll build you a nice stick house. What do you want to do that for?'”

Then he read in a trade magazine about a couple who was building energy efficient homes for low income families. At the end of the article it mentioned they were located in Carrollton, a suburb of Dallas.

He found their number and called the husband-and-wife team who said they didn’t do custom homes but offered to look at his drawings. Within a few minutes after meeting with Westbrook, the Harwoods were sold. 

According to Westbrook, the builder Richard Harwood said, “Please, let me build this house for you. This is exactly what we're trying to do with our homes. I will learn a lot. I will do it right.”

PASSIVE SOLAR

Paul Westbrook explains the passive solar elements in his home's design. Courtesy of NTREG.

The Westbrook home is designed using passive solar design principles. Most people are familiar with solar panels, but what is passive solar? 

This refers to smart design features that are low cost or no cost and that can save energy and money in the long run.

For example, Westbrook determined that a two-story rectangle was the most economical and energy efficient shape for a home. 

The stacked design reduces the amount of roof and slab area, which reduces construction and energy costs. 

Roofs collect unwanted heating, Westbrook explained. Plus roofs and slabs are more expensive to build than siding. 

As for the framing, Westbrook opted for structural insulated panels or SIPS — insulating foam core sandwiched between oriented strand board sheathing. The prefabricated panels replace traditional two-by-four studs and create a very insulated shell.

“I tell people the SIP house is like living in an Igloo ice chest,” said Westbrook. “Once you heat it or cool it, it stays that way for a good long time.”

The eaves on the Westbrook house were strategically placed to shade the house in the summer and allow the sunshine in, in the winter. Photo courtesy of Paul Westbrook.

The majority of natural lighting comes from double-paned windows located mostly on the south side, overlooking the Westbrook’s wooded backyard. 

The north facing home avoids the glare of the east and west sun. Towering trees provide additional protection.

In addition, strategically placed eaves were installed to shade the windows from the summer’s high sun, while allowing the winter’s low hanging sun to warm the house during cold weather.

The garage is bermed into the side of a hill, keeping the garage insulated all year long.

HOUSE FLIPPING

Another clever passive design feature of the Westbrook home — the layout is reversed. The living and dining rooms, kitchen, office and recreation rooms are located upstairs. While the bedrooms and laundry area are located downstairs.

“That was one we scratched our head about a long time,” said Westbrook. “But to make the floor plan as compact as possible, it worked best to have the garage and the bedrooms and the utility room on the ground floor and the living spaces all on the upper floor. All the little blocks fit if you did it that way. So we're thinking, nobody does it this way, right? Everybody's house is the other way around. But is there a reason for that? Is there a good reason, or is it just the way we do it because we have always done it that way?" 

The living areas are located on the second floor, providing a treehouse effect to the main living spaces. The home has no attic. Exposed air ducts provide an architectural feature on the upper floor. Photo courtesy of Paul Westbrook.

The flipped layout means the high ceilings and the daylighting from the clerestory windows can all be enjoyed in the living spaces.

"Which is where you would want all that,” he said.

The surrounding tree canopy at eye level add to the feeling of living in a treehouse.

Westbrook said another advantage of the layout — the ground floor bedrooms stay a few degrees cooler, which is considered more conducive for sleeping.

“We like it cool. And you can always put a blanket on if you're cold, that works fine, but the room feels great and your face is cool.

OTHER ENERGY EFFICIENT FEATURES

Paul Westbrook talks about the home's geothermal heating and cooling system and the solar water heater. Courtesy of NTREG.

The Westbrook home includes many of the features you would expect to see in an energy efficient home today. But back in 1996, when the home was built, some of the features were novel by homebuilding standards.

In addition to a 3.3 kW solar array and a standing seam metal roof, the home features a geothermal heating and cooling system buried 200 feet underground, a solar water heater and two 1,600 gallon rainwater collection tanks.

A battery storage system was added in 2021.

See Westbrook's website for details on the systems and the home’s energy usage.

NATURAL SETTING

The Westbrooks left most of their two-acre property untouched, leaving it for wildlife. Photo  courtesy of Paul Westbrook.

The home is located on a two-acre wooded lot where the majority of trees and native flora were preserved, providing a refuge for wildlife. 

You can see a list of the native wildflowers, grasses and animals spotted on the property, as well as videos from the Westbrooks’  “critter cams.”

WORK IMITATES LIFE

Westbrook’s career path was also influenced by his life long interest in energy efficiency.

A New Orleans native, Westbrook has been interested in solar and thermal energy since he was high school, when the renewable field was just taking off. While he was studying mechanical engineering at LSU, Jimmy Carter was installing the first solar panels on the White House. 

“But of course, while I was in college, the President changed, and they ripped the panels off the White House, and everything else changed,” said Westbrook. “And by the time I graduated in ’82 there were no solar jobs anymore.”

Paul Westbrook provides a tour of his home. Video courtesy of Texas Instruments.

Westbrook went to work for Texas Instruments in North Texas in 1983, where he worked on semiconducter factory design. 

Meanwhile, he was living in a conventional tract home and analyzing what worked and what didn’t. He began sketching out house plans on nights and weekends. 

Turns out, building his dream home also changed the course of his career. After the home was built, many of his coworkers toured it, including one of the vice presidents at TI. 

His superiors were so impressed that Westbrook was asked to apply the same principles to semiconductor facilities. 

“Out of that, launched the effort to build the first LEED Gold semiconductor factory in the world, there in Richardson, Texas — RFAB at TI,” said Westbrook. “And my job turned into sustainable development manager for the remainder of my career." 

Westbrook said he designed TI's LEED buildings around the world and upgraded existing buildings, focusing on energy and water efficiency improvements over the last decade plus that he worked there.

“So yeah, the building of my house and bringing people on the tour actually ended up tweaking my job at TI into something that I was really passionate about and loved.”

TOUR DE FORCE

The National Solar Tour is the first Saturday in October. Westbrook and his wife Elena have opened their home for the tour almost every year since they moved in. They’ve also participated in the DFW Solar Tour, which ran concurrently for more than 10 years starting in 2009. The local tour was hosted by the North Texas Renewable Energy Group, where Westbrook is still a member. All in all, the Westbrooks have participated in nearly 30 solar home tours. 

“For many, many, many years, we were the only DFW home on the National Tour, “ said Westbrook.

The Westbrooks have been off the tour for the last four years. So Westbrook said he’s expecting a good crowd due to pent up demand.

Both he and his wife will be leading groups every half hour from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. during the open house. The guided tours last about an hour, including time for questions and answers.

“We make it very thorough,” Westbrook said. “We know not everybody's going to get a chance to build a house, but I can tell you, there have been people who have come on my tour over the decades who have gone and built [their own home.] But most people go and improve an existing home, and so we want to help them find good ways to do that too.”

I asked if he would do anything different if he were designing his home today. Westbrook stood by his original choices — even the pre-owned solar water heating panels that he bought from a guy through a classified ad.

"I bought two panels for $100 each, and they were made in 1978. And they're still functioning on my roof, heating water like crazy here in 2024. And that's a good way to save a lot of money — find some quality used stuff occasionally." 

National Solar Tour

About: Launched in 1995, the self-guided grassroots tour is hosted by the American Solar Energy Society to promote renewable energy awareness and increase the adoption of solar energy. 

When: Oct. 4-6, 2024. Check tour map for open house times of individual homes.

Cost: Free

Locations: Texas has six locations with homes in Fairview, Irving, Waco and Austin. Two homes are located in North Texas including the Westbrook House in Fairview (Oct. 5) and fellow NTREG member Bill Byrom's home in Irving, (Oct. 4 and Oct. 6). Read more about Bill Byrom's home in GSDFW. Also Alan Northcutt, the founder of the Waco Friends of the Climate Group, is showing off his All Electric Home with PVC in Waco (Oct. 5-6). See tour map for all locations and hours.

Website

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