Module Design built this 700-square-foot custom home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to the high performance criteria of the U.S. Department of Energy Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) program.

Brightly painted fiber cement panels provide a durable covering for the highly efficient home.

ENERGY STAR appliances reduce energy use in the home.

No-VOC interior paints and low-VOC kitchen cabinet materials and finishes add to good indoor air quality.

EPA WaterSense-certified appliances save water and energy.

An energy recovery ventilator brings fresh air into the home and exhausts stale air while transferring heat from the warmer air path to the cooler air path.

The walls are built in a factory under controlled conditions. Continuous laminated veneer lumber at roof framing acts as header. Furring strips form an interior wiring chase behind the drywall that minimizes penetrations in the thermal envelope.

The highly efficient wall panels consist of (from inside to outside) 1/2-inch drywall; a 2-by-3 wiring and utility chase; 7/16-inch OSB; 9.5-inch lumber and OSB I joists set at 24 inches on center; joist bays filled with 9.5 inches of dense-packed cellulose; 7/16-inch coated OSB sheathing; rainscreen; fiber-cement panel siding.

The foundation is wrapped in insulation. The stem walls are built of 10-inch concrete masonry units that are filled with foam then damp-proofed and wrapped in 3 inches of EPS rigid insulation that is covered with cementitious parging while a 6-inch layer of EPS rigid insulation lines the entire underside of the slab.

The home uses advanced LED lighting inside and outside and the lighting is operated by controls that are integrated with the home automation system.