Reporter ISSAQUAH | SAMMAMISH
Friday, April 19, 2013
www.issaquahreporter.com
Local ties
ZEROED IN
19 area racers registered for Boston Marathon
ZHomes approaches one-year anniversary
BY LINDA BALL
BY KEVIN ENDEJAN
LBALL@ISSAQUAHREPORTER.COM
KENDEJAN@ISSAQUAHREPORTER.COM
uying a ZHome was a lifestyle choice for both Eugene Shamshurin and Gordon Frances. Each purchased a home in the award-winning Issaquah Highlands development last year.
area for quiet. The units use city water for drinking, but rainwater collected from the roof goes into an 1,800 gallon reservoir for use in the toilets, washing clothes and watering the lawn or garden. Shamshurin said the reservoir doesn’t
It may have happened 3,000 miles away, but the April 15 bombings at the Boston Marathon hit close to home for many in the Issaquah and Sammamish community. Runner Kevin Bartholomae, one of 10 registered Boston Marathon competitors from Sammamish, said he and his wife were about a block away from where two explosions took place Monday. “We came out of the subway and people were talking about two explosions and everyone was moving quickly,” the 39-year-old told The Reporter via Twitter. Bartholomae, who finished the race about an hour before chaos broke loose in the streets of Boston, said he witnessed a quick response by firefighters and police officers. Also running in the race was 55-year-old Sammamish resident Becky Backstrom. Backstrom, who also crossed the line an hour earlier, told the Reporter over the phone Tuesday that she heard about the explosions from her mother, who was staying closer to the site. Her mother was eating at a restaurant in a hotel with her niece and told Backstrom that a bomb might have gone off nearby and there was smoke everywhere. At that point, Backstrom said the call got disconnected, so she tried to walk
SEE ZHOME, 3
SEE MARATHON, 2
B
Now approaching the one-year mark, both seem very pleased with their investment. Built by Ichijo USA, which has new projects in the works in Issaquah, the homes were built to be zero-energy homes. When it’s sunny outside, solar panels on the roofs produce more electricity than the homes need and the extra is sent to the regional power grid. When it’s cloudy, homes reclaim that energy. Shamshurin moved to Issaquah from New Hampshire, but he is originally from the Ukraine. He said he and his wife, Tatyana, and their 4-month-old son, Daniel, decided on the home because it had everything that was on his list. “They put a lot of thought into designing the place,” Shamshurin said. “In the Ukraine, you don’t depend on anything. You had to depend on yourself.” With his ZHome, he doesn’t have to worry about power outages or running out of water. And he liked the fact that the builder used materials all sourced within 100 miles. Even the concrete floor at ground level is warm because it is insulated with a special styrofoam. Also, there is zero noise coming from the heating unit, which is in the garage, especially thoughtful since they have a baby. For heat, the units use geothermal exchange from fifteen 220-foot-deep wells. The earth maintains a constant temperature of 50 degrees, so the system exchanges heat with the earth through a ground heat exchanger. Frances said his interest in alternative energy started before he was a teenager. “One of my neighbors had the first solar powered home in Surrey, Canada,” he said.
ZHome homeowner, Eugene Shamshurin, above, stands by the piping that collects rainwater from the roof which is then directed to an 1,800 gallon reservoir. Bottom left, solar panels can be seen on the roof tops. Bottom right, the reservoir (round grey disk) is used to collect rainwater for toilets, washing machines, and outside watering. LINDA BALL, Issaquah & Sammamish Reporter
“He built the house around an old steam boiler from a ship.” Francis said he put solar panels on his dad’s sailboat when he was just a youngster. Like Shamshurin’s unit, Frances has all wood floors. Both have two-bedrooms, and a loft in addition to the office on the ground floor. Frances said they glassed-in their loft
Pascale LeJeune invites you for an evening on…
770388
AFRICA Magical...Incredible…Inspirational...Life changing SPEAKER Pamela Foster, African Travel Inc. PRESEnTIng The African Travel, Inc. • Distinctive Safari Collection - 2014 | Kenya | Zambia | South Africa | April 24, 2013 | 7-8 p.m. | Sammamish Plateau club Alder Room, 25625 Plateau Drive, Sammamish, WA RSVP: 425-503-0389 | pascale@experienceactivetravel.com