High-tech design creates highly efficient home in Salt Lake City

SALT LAKE CITY — From outside, the home of Joseph Turner and Rebecca Guymon stands out from every other house in their established Millcreek neighborhood — not just because of its ultra-modern exterior and sleek European lines, but also because it represents the latest in new-age design in an otherwise old-school setting.

Turner and Guymon bought their World War II-era property a decade ago with the intention of making upgrades over time. Trouble was, time came, and they updated "little bit by little bit," Turner said.

"Then we decided that we'd kind of done enough and wanted to expand," he said. After discussing some proposed changes with an architect, they decided it would be more cost-effective to just "start over."

So they flattened the original house, leaving nothing but a couple of trees on the property, and embarked on constructing their dream home.

"We felt it was imperative to have (the new house) be a little more 'green,' and we wanted new and modern, open and spacious," Turner said.

Using those parameters, they enlisted the expertise of Salt Lake City architect David Brach, who specializes in net-zero energy building design and recently received certification as a passive home designer.

"(The passive house concept) was an idea that Dave brought to us," Guymon said. "He said, 'This is going to be the most comfortable house, and it's going to save you a lot of energy.'

"We were like, 'That sounds great to us.' "

The passive house concept represents the highest level of energy efficiency, with the promise of cutting heat energy consumption of buildings by up to 90 percent.

A passive house is a well-insulated, virtually air-tight building that is primarily heated by passive solar gain and by internal gains from people and electrical equipment, according to the website of the Passive House Institute of the United States, based in Urbana, Ill.

Passive solar buildings are designed to maintain interior thermal comfort throughout the sun's daily and annual cycles while reducing the requirement for active heating and cooling systems, such as furnaces and air conditioners, Brach said.

Completed in December of last year, the "Breezeway House" was among the first certified passive houses in the nation, according to Brach.