Custom New Homes, Net Zero & Positive Energy Homes

Net Zero Energy CT Contemporary Dream Home

This Net Zero Energy Home (ZEH) is the second Building Performance Cooperative home for this couple who are downsizing from a larger near Net Zero Energy home built for them by Building Performance Cooperative in 2014.

This new home is the winner of the US Department of Energy Housing Innovation Award for a custom home. With the home’s solar panels, this home goes beyond Net Zero Energy and is, in fact, a Positive Energy Home as it produces more clean energy than it uses (including the energy they use to recharge the homeowner’s electric vehicle). The surplus energy is fed back into the electric grid. The home has three bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms and is located on an in-town lot in Trumbull, Connecticut. It is close to parks with walking and biking trails, schools, and shopping nearby.

Type: New Construction, Custom Green Home

Special Features

Open plan layout on the main floor with gourmet center island kitchen
Large windows at living rooms southern exposure capture solar gain
Vaulted red cedar plank ceiling, wood beams, and white oak flooring throughout 1^st floor
Decorative concrete floors at walkout finished basement level
Custom heavy timber staircase with glass railings
Extensive landscaping using ledge stone recovered from ledge removal

Green Building Approaches

14 kW roof-mounted photovoltaic solar array that provides 100% of the homes power needs including daily charging for homeowner’s electric vehicle
Foundation slab insulated with 6” of EPS rigid foam board and 4” at edges
Foundation walls insulated with 2” of 2lb SPF (continuous) plus 3-1/2” dense-pack cellulose
Exterior walls are 2×8’s at 16” spacing, insulated with dense-pack cellulose and wrapped with 3” of continuous rigid mineral wool board
14” roof rafters are filled with dense-pack cellulose and covered with 4-1/2” SIP (structural insulated panel) polyurethane closed-cell foam insulation panels helping create large roof overhangs
Acrylic sheathing tapes used at all sheathing intersections to achieve exceptional airtightness.
Orientation/design optimizes passive wintertime solar energy gains while limiting summertime gains
German triple-glazed aluminum-clad doors and tilt/turn windows with u-values of 0.16 (roughly R-6)
Ducted air-source heat pump system heats and cools the entire house
High-efficiency CO2 based split heat pump domestic hot water heater provides domestic hot water
European independent ducted ventilation system with energy recovery
100% LED lighting throughout
Low-flow water fixtures throughout