Photovoltaic Systems

Archive for the ‘Single-family’ Category

Recently I realized that we neglected to follow up on a Passive House project discussed in pre-construction way back in March 2010. It turns out the New England Passive House, or Little Compton Retreat, received LEED Gold certification from the USGBC in recent months. The background is this is a home by ZeroEnergy Design, who performed mechanical and architecture services, and Aedi Construction, who built the home.

Located in Little Compton, the 1,200 square-foot retreat has three bedrooms, one of which is a kid’s loft, two bathrooms, a tub room, and an open kitchen, dining and living area.

The handsome, gable-roofed structure saves energy with the combination of super insulation (R40 walls, R40 slab, and R70 roof), air sealing, high-performance windows, passive solar heating, a heat recovery ventilator, and an energy monitoring system, according a profile by ZED.

Other than LEED and Energy Star certification, Passive House certification is in progress.

Little Compton was finished with a modern Poggenpohl kitchen, contemporary furniture from Addo Novo, no- and low-VOC materials, paints, and sealants, and a whole-house ventilation system.

[+] See more photos of the Little Compton Retreat at ZED.

Photo credits: Greg Premru.

Related Articles on JetsonGreen.com:

1. Passive House Retreat for Little Compton
2. Wisconsin Passive House in the Woods
3. Passive House: Brighter Shade of Green

New Town Builders, the company that uses beetle-killed pine for their framing, opened this net-zero energy home with an announcement yesterday.  The company is the first in the area to offer a zero-energy package as a regular, additional option.  In other words, if a buyer wants it, the buyer can get a home that generates as much energy as it uses over the course of a year for the right price — in this case, $26,900.

This home, located at 8146 E. 35th Ave. in Denver, achieved a zero HERS score with solar panels, super insulation, and a proprietary double-stud wall.  As you can see, the wall has a half-inch gap and 24 inches between the studs to reduce thermal bridging. External walls have a thin layer of spray foam and the rest of the cavity is filled with blown-in cellulose.

During construction, New Town Builders checked the ducts for tightness to ensure that air reaches its destination with 7% or less loss.  Also, the home has a high efficiency HVAC system, energy efficient windows, Energy Star appliances, 100% CFL and LED lighting, a tankless water heater, and a continuous whole house energy recovery exhaust fan.

The model home is priced at $424,000, which includes a 9.9 kW solar array.  Green elements add about $100 to the mortgage cost, says New Town Builders, but the extra cost is eaten up by $200 in net savings per month due to having having no energy bill.

[+] More about this net-zero energy home in Stapleton.

Credits: New Town Builders.

Related Articles on JetsonGreen.com:

1. Near NZE Morning Sun Home in Oregon
2. ZETA Fabricates Homes for NZE Project
3. Traditional NZE Home in Connecticut

New Town Builders, the company that uses beetle-killed pine for their framing, opened this net-zero energy home with an announcement yesterday.  The company is the first in the area to offer a zero-energy package as a regular, additional option.  In other words, if a buyer wants it, the buyer can get a home that generates as much energy as it uses over the course of a year for the right price — in this case, $26,900.

This home, located at 8146 E. 35th Ave. in Denver, achieved a zero HERS score with solar panels, super insulation, and a proprietary double-stud wall.  As you can see, the wall has a half-inch gap and 24 inches between the studs to reduce thermal bridging. External walls have a thin layer of spray foam and the rest of the cavity is filled with blown-in cellulose.

During construction, New Town Builders checked the ducts for tightness to ensure that air reaches its destination with 7% or less loss.  Also, the home has a high efficiency HVAC system, energy efficient windows, Energy Star appliances, 100% CFL and LED lighting, a tankless water heater, and a continuous whole house energy recovery exhaust fan.

The model home is priced at $424,000, which includes a 9.9 kW solar array.  Green elements add about $100 to the mortgage cost, says New Town Builders, but the extra cost is eaten up by $200 in net savings per month due to having having no energy bill.

[+] More about this net-zero energy home in Stapleton.

Credits: New Town Builders.

Related Articles on JetsonGreen.com:

1. Near NZE Morning Sun Home in Oregon
2. ZETA Fabricates Homes for NZE Project
3. Traditional NZE Home in Connecticut

This is the first LEED Platinum home in Athens.  Designed by Lori Bork Newcomer, principal of Bork Architectural Design, Inc., the 2,632 square-foot home blends native materials to maintain neighborhood context and contemporary design to suit the aesthetics of owners Lori and Quint Newcomer.  Lori and Quint self-contracted the build for about $125 per square foot and, perhaps more impressively, the home uses about the same amount of energy as one a third the size.

The exterior is completed with Tennessee fieldstone, stucco, and white clapboard, while the traditional gable facade is made with glass to allow natural light to the kitchen, living, and dining area.  Inside, the floors are covered in locally-sourced, reclaimed heart pine and the certain accent walls feature reclaimed barn wood.

Lori sought energy efficiency through air tightness, superior insulation, reflective roofing, Energy Star windows, and solar hot water (which reduces energy use by up to 20% by itself).  To conserve water, the home has low-flow fixtures, drought-tolerant landscaping, and a 1,100-gallon cistern that collects rainwater for irrigation.

Other green elements include an EPA-certified wood burning stove, interior mineral paints by San Marco, USA, polished fly ash concrete floors, recycled content FLOR carpet tiles, formaldehyde-free EccoDoors, low- or zero-VOC finishes, cellulose and Ecobatt insulation, Icynene spray foam in the roofline, a high-efficiency heat pump with an ERV, and LED and CFL bulbs in more than 50% of light fixtures.

[+] Watch a slideshow of more Lori-Quint Home photos.

Photo credits: Elizabeth Maves.

Related Articles on JetsonGreen.com:

1. Traditional LEED Platinum in Georgia
2. Large Luxury Home Earns LEED Platinum
3. HGTV Green Home Earns LEED Platinum