Best Energy-Smart Home 2018: Neighborhood Net Zero
This builder-friendly spec house fills out a narrow lot in a contemporary community.
Synopsis: The 2018 Best Energy-Smart Home Award goes to Eric Woodhouse for a contemporary split-level spec house that achieved close to Passive House levels of airtightness. Rigid insulation was installed over the slab, and then 7-1/4-in.-deep double-stud walls were dense-packed with cellulose insulation. Open-web trusses were used for the second floor, and I-joists for the roof framing. Zip System sheathing is the primary air and water barrier on the walls and roof, and the roof system is unvented with dense-pack cellulose in the rafter cavities in addition to foam installed above the sheathing. The house is heated with a homebrew version of hydronic radiant tubing installed under the finished flooring, controlled by a Nest thermostat. The walls have conventional stucco over a ventilated rainscreen assembly, and there is a PV system on the roof sized to produce more energy than the building needs. The article includes in-depth drawings of the roof,…
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It’s great to see a house in California with hydronic heating.