https://www.netzeroenergyadu.com/blog daily 0.75 2020-12-16 https://www.netzeroenergyadu.com/home daily 1.0 2022-08-19 https://www.netzeroenergyadu.com/contact daily 0.75 2022-08-19 https://www.netzeroenergyadu.com/energy-management daily 0.75 2021-05-27 https://www.netzeroenergyadu.com/site-planning daily 0.75 2021-06-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f282bb35cd5164e1ba60ec9/1608130888311-ULL1ZM7B8GTXO1EBEVJJ/Screen+Shot+2020-12-16+at+3.58.41+PM.png Site Planning - Alternative: Turn car spaces into living spaces. Sustainable building practices allow for existing water, sewer and electric utilities to meet an increased residential density. Redesigning your residential site to be people friendly instead of car centric, can provide for a second living space called an accessory dwelling unit (ADU). This provides more living spaces that use less utilities and can be rented for additional income. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f282bb35cd5164e1ba60ec9/1608130734291-4JAA14Q3G1231RDKO97C/Screen+Shot+2020-12-16+at+3.58.24+PM.png Site Planning - Let’s run the numbers for a typical 6,500sf residential lot. A two car garage takes up about at lest 400 square feet, the driveway another 1,100. That means you are allocating 1,500 square feet of your residential lot to your car. For this example that’s 23% of the total area, just to make the car happy. For smaller lots, with larger garages this percentage only goes up. Do you have ideas for other spaces you would rather have at your residence? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f282bb35cd5164e1ba60ec9/1608130490542-4XG37MQNEVQCIAZAVB3O/Screen+Shot+2020-12-16+at+3.41.41+PM.png Site Planning - A typical single-family lot in1940, Example of Car Centric Design. Why use up so much front yard for driveway and car parking? Why not access the garage from the alley? In planning we say this was the era of making the car happy, providing it a little house (also known as your garage) and being able to park it prominently in the front yard driveway. Times have changed and many cities do not require onsite parking. https://www.netzeroenergyadu.com/about daily 0.75 2021-06-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f282bb35cd5164e1ba60ec9/1600096235829-CPFJ6LV14SLXSMBFEYJZ/Nathaniel+Wilson%2C+Architect+ADU+Los+Angeles About Nat - Nathaniel Wilson, AIA, AICP Architect and environmental planner, Nat is the “sherpa of sustainability.” He has a has demonstrated the ability break trails and do the heavy lifting on multi-million dollar major capital and environmental planning projects. He brings his technical skills and wealth of architecture, engineering and construction experience to Net Zero Energy Accessory Dwelling Unit projects at NSW Consulting, Inc. Nathaniel Wilson started NSW Consulting, Sustainable Architecture and Planning in January 2018. Prior employment includes Campus Architect at California State University Northridge (CSUN) for 15 years where he led award-winning building projects including two LEED Gold projects and the Associated Students Sustainability Center, a LEED Platinum / Net Zero Energy building. He is a graduate of the UCLA School of Architecture and Urban Planning, American Planning Association Certified Environmental Planner (AICP/CEP), active in local chapters of the APA and the AIA. He has been an adjunct professor at Pierce College architecture department teaching sustainable building systems. He served for 7 years on the steering committees for the California Higher Education Sustainability Conference (CHESC). https://www.netzeroenergyadu.com/construction daily 0.75 2021-06-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f282bb35cd5164e1ba60ec9/1616083219753-YWTJP823ZZNQM28W49E8/unsplash-image-WCv7VmZfEqw.jpg Construction - Bidding to Qualified General Contractors The typical garage takes up about 400 square feet, the driveway another 1,100. That means you are allocating 1,500 square feet of your family lot to your car. On this example lot of 6,500 square feet, that’s 23% of the total are, just to make the car happy. On smaller lots, this percentage only goes up. Just think about all the things you could to with all that space instead. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f282bb35cd5164e1ba60ec9/1608130888311-ULL1ZM7B8GTXO1EBEVJJ/Screen+Shot+2020-12-16+at+3.58.41+PM.png Construction - AIA Contract for Construction and Construction Administration This excess transportation capacity is a sunk cost. The addition of greater density makes better use of the transportation. Sustainable building practices allow for existing water, sewer and electric utilities to meet the increased density. Using a small car park instead of the garage, you get room for a second living space on the same lot that not only provides more room for life, but also an investment into the future. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f282bb35cd5164e1ba60ec9/1616082989299-ICCMZ8J676QDGNM0F49K/unsplash-image-mcSDtbWXUZU.jpg Construction - Pre- Construction Services Why use up so much front yard for driveway and car parking? Why not access the garage from the alley? In planning we say this was the era of making the car happy, providing it a little house (also known as your garage) and being able to park it prominently in the front yard driveway.