Want to receive dinner on us?

If you refer family or friends to us and they sign a contract with us to design a new or remodeled home you will receive a free dinner for two, compliments on us as our way of saying THANK YOU! You get to choose from one of our favorite places to eat (The Green Well, Marie Catrib's, Rose's on Reeds Lake or the Electric Cheetah restaurants)

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335 Freyling Place SE, Project Receives LEED for Homes "Platinum" Certification

It's official our Habitat for Humanity of Kent County project at "335 Freyling Place SE" in Grand Rapids achieved LEED for Homes "Platinum" certification. This was Habitat's 300th home built in Kent County and most radical and energy efficient project they ever built! The goal was to reduce the amount of energy needed to power the home, then to produce enough energy to heat itself. This small affordable home is was built in partnership with GRCC Tassell M-TEC New Construction students in the revitalized, historic Wealthy Heights neighborhood near the corner of Wealthy and Diamond on the southeast side of the City of Grand Rapids.

Besides the LEED certification the home was GreenBuilt Michigan "Gold" certified and also received ZeroStep certification and was featured on the Great Lakes Renewable Energy Tour and in World Habitat Day 2011. Some of the unique feature of this Habitat home are

Super Insulated 18" Thick Exterior Wall.

Logix ICF Exterior walls.

SIP Panel Roof.

Advanced Framing.

Jeld-Wen Energy Star Windows.

Passive Solar Design.

Solar Hot-water.

Pre-Wired for Photovoltaic's

Passive Cooling.

Prison Built Cabinetry.

Pre-Cast Concrete Counter-tops.

CertainTeed Fiber Cement Board Siding.

Radiant Heat Floors.

Whirlpool CEE Tier III Energy Star Washer.

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Come Tour the "River Escape" Project on 11.11.11

On 11.11.11 come see our "River Escape" project a truly affordable home that was built to be 88% more energy efficient than and standard new code built home. This home is a Zero-Energy home that is projected to be a LEED for Homes “Platinum” project. The home is also a finalist for Green Builder Magazines "2011 Home of the Years". And is ZeroStep “Silver” Certified (Lifetime Design or Barrier Free) from Disability Advocates of Kent County Michigan.

Key Sustainable/Green Features

• Rain Permeable Gravel Driveway.
• Lifetime Design (Barrier Free)
• Zero step entries.
• Energy Star North Star Triple Pane Windows.
• Energy Star LED & CFL lighting.
• Energy Star Ceiling Fans.
• Energy Star Appliances by Frigidaire.
• SIP Panel Roof
• Frost Protected Shallow Foundation (with R-20 Dow Insulation beneath it.)
• BuildBlock ICF Construction (with 40% Fly-Ash)
• Advanced Framing (Studs @ 24” o.c.)
• James Hardie FiberCement siding (with recycled content)
• MiraTec Trim (formaldehyde free, SCS Certified)
• Central Vacuum System (Greatly reduces in-door air pollutants)
• Concrete Floors through-out main floor. (Colored in the concrete mix)
• FSC certified Bamboo Flooring on second story.
• FSC certified stud interior walls.
• No-VOC Paints and primers.
• Low-VOC caulks and sealants.
• Amish Built Kitchen Cabinets from wood within 5 miles from the project site.
• Dual-Flush toilet by American Standard.
• Low flow shower heads and faucets.
• Pex Plumbing.
• Radon Venting.
• Radiant Heat Through-out Home.
• Life breath HRV (heat recovery ventilator)
• Passive Solar Design.
• Solar Hot Water. (30% Tax Rebate)
• 4.1kW of Photovoltaic (30% Tax Rebate)
• Pellet Stove (Back up Heat System)
• Pre-wired for a future Wind Generator.
• Pre-wired for future battery backup.

Please RSVP with us at 616.957.LEED (5333) or at ehughes@imagedesignarch.com

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Habitat for Humanity of Kent County builds its 300th Home

Since 1983 Habitat for Humanity of Kent County has built 300 homes and 68 of those homes were LEED certified. We are proud to have designed their 300th Home and their most energy efficient home to date. Grand Rapids Community Collage's Building Trades program has partnered again with Habitat for Humanity as they build its 300th home in Kent County. this will be Habitat's first zero-energy home and will be their second  LEED for for Homes "Platinum" project. Please take a minute to watch the video below.

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Judging EcoHome Design Awards

I am honored to have been ask to be a judge of EcoHome Magazines inaugural EcoHome Design Awards, honoring the best sustainable homes for innovative design, green building features, environmental performance, and integration with their sites and communities in the nation. I will be flying to Washington D.C. for the judging in a week and a half and I am really excited about the opportunity to be one of the judges for such a prestigious award from one of my favorite magazines. We will be helping to judge in all of these categories.

1. Production, less than 2,000 square feet
2. Production, 2,000 to 4,000 square feet
3. Production, more than 4,000 square feet
4. Custom*, less than 2,000 square feet
5. Custom*, 2,000 to 4,000 square feet
6. Custom*, more than 4,000 square feet
7. Remodeling, whole-house
8. Remodeling, green addition
9. Multifamily
10. Affordable Housing

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"Vineyard Project" Wins GreenBuilder Magazine's "2009 Green Home of the Year Award"

We are very excited annouce that we just found out that our projected LEED for Homes "Platinum "Vineyard Project" in Paw Paw, Michigan just won the GreenBuilder Magazine's "2009 Green Home of the Year Award" this is a very prestigious national award from one of the industries most respect green building magazines. Congratulation should go out to all of "Team Hybrid" for all of the hard work they are doing to be the leaders and pioneer's in the Green Building field in the State of Michigan.

I would like to thank the team members Hybrid Homes LLC, Image Design LLC, Andersen Window Corporation, BuildBlock ICF Company and R-Value Concrete Structures LLC for another awesome job! We would also like to thank the Homeowner for allowing us all to be apart of the special project!

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Tulikivi Masonry Unit Heater (Fireplace)

Some of you were able to tour our 2009 Michigan Energy Fair Show Home in Kingsley Michigan this last weekend, for those of you that were not. One of the favorite feature of this home was the Tulikivi Masonry Unit Heater Fireplace from Positive Chimney & Fire Place Located in Cadillac, Michigan. TULIKIVI (TWO-lee-KEE-vee). In Finnish, it literally means "fire stone". In English, it translates into one of the world's most beautiful and efficient ways to heat your house.

Fireplaces are important in every home especially to those who are located in cold places like Michigan. However, burning wood inside your home is not eco friendly enough and not an efficient way to save fuel. To address this issue, Finnish company Tulikivi has created the soapstone fireplace that is truly beautiful and fuel-efficient that produces some of the cleanest, most energy-efficient wood-burning fireplaces in the world. Adding to the “green” appeal of a Tulikivi fireplace is its healthy radiant heat output and use of a local, renewable, carbon neutral fuel – wood. These soapstone fireplaces are a traditional heating method in Finland, but are now winning converts here at a time when prices for oil and natural gas continue to soar. Typical wood-burning fireplaces send the majority of their heat up the chimney; not so with a Tulikivi. The soapstone soaks up the fire’s heat as it burns, stores it and then gently and steadily releases it after the fire is out. Tulikivi is recognized by the Finnish Allergy and Asthma Federation as a heating option for those households where asthma or allergies are a key concern, due to the extremely low particle emission of its latest collection of fireplaces (introduced in North America earlier this year). Tulikivi fireplaces supersede the strictest air quality standards in the world and help's our "Granite Hill Project" earn points towards its projected LEED for Homes "Gold" certification. It’s nice to know that you can now have a fireplace that is not only fashionable and elegant, but also an earth friendly one.

Several people that attended this years Energy Fair told me it was worth the trip to this home just to check out his Tulikivi soapstone fireplace.

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A HERS Score of 34!!!

Exciting news from Mike Holcomb of AES (Our LEED for Homes rater) and Adam Bearup of Hybrid Homes our "Vineyard Project" just received a HERS score of 34. This is the lowest score Mike Holcomb has every tested as a rater and possibly the lowest score in the State of Michigan. This extremely low HERS score means that our "Vineyard Project" is now projected at the "Platinum" Level under the LEED for Homes program. Both Adam and I are very excited about this news.

What is a HERS, or Home Energy Rating System score? Well it is basically a rating of how energy efficient a home is based on a number of things, including a blower door test, the HVAC system, energy usage, and so on. The HERS rating is what is used to qualify a home for the Energy Star Rating. The rating is based off of a standard new home built to code that was rated originally tested and used as the test case with the score of 100. A typical older home has a HERS index of 125-150. Most homes that qualify for Energy Star homes must have a HERS rating of 85. That means that those homes are 15% more energy efficient than the test house. This is really good and a step in the right direction. Most of our homes have been scoring in the 50's, which is where we would expect the to fall. That HERS score would qualifies our homes as 5 star+ in the Energy Star rating system. The "Vineyard Project" came in at 34 (lower the better) making it 66% more efficient than a new home built to code.

Based on their Home Energy Rating System (HERS) scores, the average home certified under LEED for Homes since its launch in February 2008 is predicted to use an estimated 30-60% less energy than a comparable home built to International Energy Conservation Code. Based on the average HERS ratings for each level of LEED certification, these homes could potentially see energy reductions of:

• Certified: Up to 30%.


• Silver: Approximately 30%.


• Gold: Approximately 48%.


• Platinum: 50-60%.

As many know, Adam and I are firm believer in Kaizan ( A Japanese philosophy Adam introduced me too), or continuous improvement. We are continually studying the design & construction of our homes to make improvements to them so they are as energy efficient as possible within their budgets. So even though a HERS rating of 34 is the best we have achieved so far our goal are to continually improve upon that score with the ultimate goal of a HERS score of 0. You can read Adam's take on it at his blog.

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