Project Description
This is a four bedroom, two full and one half-bath home that was built for a Taft School faculty family, on a site that adjoins the campus. A second major goal was to build the home to be an example and tool for the students to learn about green building.
Although it takes time to establish a home’s energy profile, it is expected that this home will achieve its net zero annual energy goal.
Project Architect: Trillium Architects
Special Features:
- Design and exterior finishes are historically accurate for the neighborhood
- Open-concept living layout
- 5” white oak floors
- Built-in living room shelving
- Custom kitchen and bathroom cabinetry
- En suite master bedroom and bath
- Finished and fully conditioned basement
Green Building Approaches:
- Rear of house faces solar south to capture winter heat
- 406sf of east, south, and west-facing windows capture half of the energy required for space heating
- 13.1kw PV panels on house and garage should provide more energy than the annual operating needs
- 8” of EPS rigid foam board insulation under the slab
- 3” of continuous closed-cell (low GWP) spray foam applied to basement walls
- 3.5” of dense-pack cellulose between 2×4 studs on interior face of basement walls
- 2×4 double wall framing to practically eliminate thermal bridging
- 2” of closed-cell spray foam applied to interior face of exterior wall sheathing
- Exterior sheathing includes 1” of polyiso rigid foam insulation to further reduce thermal bridging
- 8.5” of dense-pack cellulose insulation completes exterior wall insulation
- Attic floor is insulated with 24” of dense-pack cellulose
- Acrylic sheathing tapes used to achieve exceptional air-tightness of 0.60ACH50
- European triple-glazed aluminum-clad wood windows with u-values of 0.13 (roughly R-8)
- Small ducted air-source heat pump heats and cools the entire house
- No central heating or cooling required
- Heat pump water heater extracts heat from interior air
- Energy recovery ventilation has separate small diameter duct distribution system
- Fiber cement siding installed over a ¾” drainage plane
- Exterior trim made from recycled fly ash and rated for ground contact
- 100% LED lighting
- Low-flow water fixtures throughout
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