Coulston's dwelling has been an energy-saving project about 5-years in the making, and a longtime goal come to fruition. It blends in with other residences in the cozy, family-friendly Lower Rattlesnake, but warrants a second-look to passersby.
The home is undoubtedly 'green' but is in no way pretentious. Unlike many green homes that are built as much for show as for function, the purpose of Coulston's home is clearly defined by features in every room of the house - from the small-scale appliances in the kitchen, the recycled natural materials on the floors and walls, to the fold-down beds and small closet-like room that serves as the “energy-central” collected from solar panels and the wind turbine outside.
“We had designed a major remodel of this house to be energy efficient and sustainable in using local and recycled materials whenever possible. In doing that, we recreated this whole house,” Coulston said.
Coulston and his wife started their 'project' in 2007, when they moved to Missoula from Helena. Coulston had lived in Missoula prior to Helena and always knew he would come back.
“I just kept coming back here. My kids were raised here. This was the place I loved more than anything,” he said.
Coulston's professional background involves sustainable projects related to traditional land use: farming, ranching, agriculture, and energy. But energy conservation in the home has been largely self-taught.
While in Helena, Coulston's family started wondering how they could make their historic 1889 home affordable to live in and energy efficient. They started just by changing the light bulbs and the refrigerator and, over time, installed a solar energy system. They were able to capture about half of their heat through the sun.
Coulston's move to Missoula involved taking energy efficiency to a whole new level. He totally renovated his home to be energy efficient and made with natural and recycled materials. Missoula builder Steve Loken helped with the design and materials for the renovation.
Loken was the right man for the job. He's been working on sustainable building since 1980. And although Loken does new construction, his real passion is in rebuilding and restoring existing housing.
“The most efficient thing you can do is reclaim the existing building, make it more efficient for the next 100 years,” Loken said.
Loken said he values new green building, but because most of the needs to meet housing are already in place, it makes most sense to work with houses that have already been built.
“Green building is very sexy. It's exciting – but 99 percent of the problem is already here on the ground. The roads, the sewer, the water, the gas – the infrastructure is already here, so let's make it better,” Loken said.
Coulston worked with Loken to research the best energy-efficient and natural ways to improve his home.
The walls are finished with a clay-based paint. He used dense-packed cellulose for insulation in the walls, which is basically shredded newspaper. His floors are natural wood recycled and refinished from his home before the renovation.
Coulston also added solar to his home. He has a PV system that has the ability to add energy back to the grid, and allows him to save money even on cloudy day. In the summer, solar energy adds enough heat and electricity that he uses virtually no extra energy than what is created. Coulston even went as far to rally the city to change their ordinance to allow him to install a vertical axis wind turbine in his yard.
The homeowner has a TED energy device installed on his computer that shows how much energy is being produced,versus how much energy is being used. Being aware of what goes in and out makes him aware of what activities use most energy and helps him make a conscious effort to conserve.
The process of designing and implementing energy-efficient practices has been a great experience for Coulston.
“Learning about all of the materials available and the possibilities for redesigning a house was really interesting for me,” he said.
Loken said Coulston's dedication to energy has stood out to him throughout the years.
“He's very much an energy guy. He likes doing things for energy purposes and is very committed to conservation – there's no question,” Loken said. “I think he's made some pretty sound decisions.”
Although Coulston went above and beyond in efforts to be energy-efficient, just about anyone can find ways to save energy in their home. Beyond changing light bulbs, improving insulation, updating windows and getting a new furnace can make a big difference in the amount of energy a person uses. The utility company and government programs often provide incentives for energy-saving updates. Energy-experts Coulston and Loken suggest each individual find what's available and take the time to research what works for them.
Coulston said he's saves a lot of money and energy because of the appliances he's installed in his home. His dishwasher, stove, refrigerator and washer and dryer are designed with efficiency in mind, and use only a fraction of the energy most appliances do. All of his kitchen appliances are not as wide as most models. His fridge has the freezer on the bottom and he uses a gas washer and dryer, which is widely available, but uses much less energy than electrical.
Loken said you can save energy by paying attention to your landscape as well.
“There is a whole host of things that we can do for water efficiency. Eliminating some of your lawn, planting native grasses, putting in shrubs that don't need to be watered as much. If you are going to water, grow food,” he said.
Making homes more energy efficient makes sense now more than ever. In this hard economic time, it makes sense to think about homes in the long-term.
“People used to think they could throw any amount of money in on their house and they would get it back on resale. That's not the case right now. Now you just have to decide that your home is where you want to be,” Loken said. “Energy efficiency upgrades almost always have paybacks because it is money out of your pocket that you are saving.”
Instead of jumping on the bandwagon with the latest 'green' marketing scheme, Loken suggests individuals think about energy efficiency is by asking, “What is the simplest and easiest things you can do to get the job done to make you comfortable and have the least amount of impact on the environment?”
Both of Coulston and Loken are driven by a proactive approach to energy, a dislike of dependence on oil and fossil fuels from outside Montana and a goal for self sufficiency.
“We've gone through at least half of the world's petroleum products at this time, so now we're starting to fuss about the second half,” Coulston said. “It took us about 100 years or more to consume half of the world's oil supply. It's predicted that in less than 25 years we'll go through the second half. With everyone accelerating their use of petroleum products, it makes sense to learn about some of the ways to conserve.”
The feet-dragging happening in the U.S. political system is going to force people to do something in the future. Coulston is operating ahead of the curve.
“At some point in time, somebody 20-years from now is going to say, 'What happened to our leadership? Why hasn't something been done about this?' We live in denial right now that everything's going to be alright. The economy will get better. We will just create more jobs. But that really isn't where it's at. We have plenty of work to do if we were just to do more to create sustainable communities.”
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