Salishan 7 Residents
Welcome to Salishan 7.
Your home is Certified LEED for HOMES Platinum, Energy Star, and Built Green 3Star. This means that you have a home that is at least 30% more energy efficient than the average home. However, it’s up to you to take advantage of the green features. The only way you can is to understand your energy saving features, what they have to offer, and operate and maintain your home as recommended.
The walls of your home are significantly better than the average home. You have triple paned windows, an air barrier system that controls air leakage, plus walls, foundation and a ceiling that are insulated well above code. This means it takes much less to heat your home in the winter and very little to cool your home in summer.
You have a Hybrid Heating System consisting of an Air Source Heat Pump (ductless mini-split) and electric resistance baseboard heaters. Your Heat Pump is 3 times more efficient than your baseboard heaters. Furthermore, your heat pump was sized for your home, which means by itself, the heat pump is more than enough to heat and cool your entire home throughout the year, even on the coldest day. The baseboard heaters are there just in case! If you want to use them you can, but remember it costs 3 times more to run your baseboard heaters than it does your heat pump. We recommend only run your baseboard heaters if you really need to which should be virtually never.
Energy Star and Energy efficient appliances, products and lighting are throughout your home. Enjoy!
In each home, there is also an Occupant’s Manual, which THA Property Management will show you in your 1 hour walk through prior to signing for your home. This manual explains the features of your home and has operations and maintenance information regarding all of the products and equipment in your home. Please familiarize yourself with your manual and your home.
Last of all, Tacoma Power has installed its Gateway “Smart Meter”. This system enables you to understand your energy consumption by the minute, hour, day, week or month so you can understand how much more you spend doing laundry twice a week versus once a week or maybe running your mini-split without your baseboard heaters. Overall, the Smart Meter enables you to operate your home in the most economical and energy efficient way possible.
THA provides this website to you as an additional resource to better understand how to best operate and maintain your home.
Each of the video links below, provides a visual demonstration on some of the features of your home. All of them are frequently asked questions.
- Tacoma Power Smart Meter: Tacoma Power has installed Smart Meters on your home. These meters enable you to better understand your energy consumption so that you can make choices on how to save money. Learn some more about this.
- Blown In Insulation: Take a look at what’s in your walls!
- How to care for your Flooring: Hard surface flooring is used throughout your home. special care is required.
- How to use your heat pump: Use your thermostat properly. Set the temperature to its most efficient operating temperature 70 degrees.
- How to reset your breaker: Check your breakers if you have lost power.
- GFCI Outlets: What is a GFCI?
- Maintain your heat pump filter: Doing so ensures that your heat pump is operating most efficiently, saving you money.
- Mini-Blinds Use & Maintenance: Watch and learn. You might learn something new.
- Energy Star 2 Pronged Light Bulbs: You have 2 pronged CFL light bulbs throughout your home. Changing the bulbs is easy.
- Whole House Fan: You have a whole house fan in your utility closet running 24/7 to ensure that your home has the optimum level of ventilation.