Amaris Custom Homes built this 3,184-square-foot custom home in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, to the high performance criteria of the U.S. Department of Energy Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) program.

Two inches of rigid foam provides a continuous blanket of insulation beneath the engineered wood lap siding.

A combination of 2 inches of closed-cell spray foam plus blown fiberglass provides an R-60 layer of insulation over the ceiling deck, while light-colored asphalt shingles and ridge vents help prevent heat build-up in the vented attic.

All of the home's faucets and plumbing fixtures are WaterSense-labeled and the dishwasher and refrigerator are ENERGY STAR-rated, adding to the water and energy savings.

All of the home's light fixtures are equipped with LED bulbs, and the ceiling fixtures are surface-mounted, low-profile LED fixtures rather than recessed can lights.

The home is handicap-accessible, with a no-step front entry, wider hallways and 3-foot doors, lever-style door handles, a full ADA main-level bathroom, zero barrier showers on both main-level bathrooms, and a lowered kitchen eat-in island. Mid-chord bearing trusses allow for future ramp access from the garage to the house.

Spray foam insulation fills the headers above the windows and also insulates and air-seals the rim joists, while caulking was liberally applied to seal all wood to wood joints in the framing.

Two inches of closed-cell spray foam adds rigidity to the 2-by-4, 24-inch on-center walls, while 2 inches of R-10 rigid foam wraps the exterior of the walls over the 7/16-inch OSB sheathing.

Taped house wrap provides a weather-resistant barrier over the rigid foam, which wraps the above-grade walls as well as the below-grade walls, which are first covered with a polymer-enhanced asphalt liquid-applied waterproof membrane.

In this cold Minnesota climate, the home's primary heating source is a 96 AFUE gas furnace, while a 9.2 HSPF, 19.2 SEER heat pump provides high-efficiency cooling and could also be used as a back-up heating source. An energy recovery ventilator adds fresh air to the system.