This 3,600-square-foot custom home built by Evolutionary Home Builders LLC (formerly Weiss Building and Development) is the first certified U.S. DOE Zero Energy Ready Home in Illinois.
The high-performance, three-story home is expected to cost its homeowners about $40 per month in heating and cooling bills, thanks in part to high-efficiency comfort equipment, high-efficiency insulation, and advanced home sealing technology.
The use of low-/no-VOC stains and finishes helps this home comply with the EPA Indoor airPLUS guidelines for a healthier indoor environment.
Ultra-efficient triple-pane windows include insulated vinyl frames and clear advanced technology coatings that keep heat out in summer and inside in the winter.
High-efficiency, ENERGY STAR-rated appliances and water-saving, low-flow EPA WaterSense-labeled fixtures provide water and energy savings in the high-performance homes.
Advanced lighting technology, including LED and compact fluorescent fixtures, supplements the natural daylight in this home.
A variety of advanced home-sealing technologies provide comprehensive draft protection. These include sprayer-applied sealants at all framing seams; caulk, gaskets, and tape around piping and wiring; and quadruple flashing around windows with pitched sills.
The 2-by-6 advanced-framed walls were dense-packed with R-23 of fiberglass insulation then wrapped with a continuous exterior thermal blanket of coated rigid foam insulation (R-23). The wall water barrier system includes taped house wrap over the taped rigid foam. Vertical furring strips were installed to provide a drainage gap behind the engineered wood siding as part of the dry-by-design wall construction.

Illinois First Zero Energy Custom

South Elgin, IL

3,600 sqft

3 Beds

2.5 Baths

3 Floors Above Grade

Custom

Cold

Humid

Without PV

35HERS

$40Average Monthly Energy Bill

$2,000Annual Energy Cost Savings

$84,00030 Year Savings

Evolutionary Home Builders LLC

Profile

ZERO

2013

Winner

Housing Innovation Award

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Key Features

Energy / Heat recovery ventilator Electric Vehicle Charger Installed or Wired for Charger High-performance wall with continuous insulation Triple-pane windows Unvented insulated attic ACH 50 < 2.5 or CFM50/SF of enclosure ≤ 0.25

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Home owner (or occupant) Testimony

When we set out to build a house we knew that it was somewhere we wanted to live for the rest of our lives, and we didn't want to think back in 10, 20, or 30 years and be kicking ourselves for not taking advantage of the technological advances in home building. We like that it is intelligently engineered to achieve the maximum in efficiency. I can't fathom building a home that doesn't use the most up-to-date building science.

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Homeowner

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A variety of advanced home-sealing technologies provide comprehensive draft protection. These include sprayer-applied sealants at all framing seams; caulk, gaskets, and tape around piping and wiring; and quadruple flashing around windows with pitched sills.
The 2-by-6 advanced-framed walls were dense-packed with R-23 of fiberglass insulation then wrapped with a continuous exterior thermal blanket of coated rigid foam insulation (R-23). The wall water barrier system includes taped house wrap over the taped rigid foam. Vertical furring strips were installed to provide a drainage gap behind the engineered wood siding as part of the dry-by-design wall construction.