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Green Acres #28

    • Greenhill Contracting built this 4,208-square-foot home in New Paltz, New York, to the performance criteria of the U.S. Department of Energy Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) program.
    • With a compact, energy-efficient design and insulated concrete form (ICF) continuous thermal blanket walls, the four-story home provides its homeowners with quiet comfort and close to $4,000 a year in energy savings.
    • The roof-mounted 10.08-kW solar electric system meets most of the electricity needs of this high-efficiency home, cutting homeowners' electric bills to less than $300 per year.
    • The home's range hood fan exhausts contaminants directly outside while high-efficiency bathroom fans are exhausted through the continuously operating balanced fresh air system. This system also provides fresh filtered air through the central air handler.
    • The builder covered the underside of the roof deck with 11.5 inches of open-cell spray foam plus 2.25 inches of closed-cell spray foam, creating a continuous thermal blanket that completely air seals the attic, provides an R-69 insulation value, and minimizes the risk of ice dams.
    • The ultra-efficient (COP 5.7) ground source heat pump uses a central air handler with modulating condensers and a variable-speed electrically commutated motor blower to distribute conditioned air. The balanced fresh air system uses an energy recovery ventilator connected to the air handler to provide filtered fresh air to the home. A desuperheater on the heat pump provides a portion of the domestic hot water.
    • The draft-free construction provided by the ICF walls and spray foam-insulated foundation and attic allow the builder to achieve extremely low airtightness levels, more than 90% lower than specified in the latest energy code.

      Green Acres #28

      Project Address

      Esopus, NY

      Conditioned Square Footage
      4,208 sqft
      Number of Bedrooms
      3 Beds
      Number of Bathrooms
      3.5 Baths
      Number of Floors Above Grade
      2 Floors Above Grade
      Home Type
      Custom
      Climate Zone Temperature
      Cold
      Climate Zone Humidity
      Humid

      With PV

      HERS Index with PV
      -1HERS (PV)
      Average Monthly Energy Bill PV
      $20Average Monthly Energy Bill (PV)
      Annual Energy Cost Savings with PV
      $4,000Annual Energy Cost Savings (PV)
      30 Year Savings with PV
      $163,00030 Year Savings (PV)

      Zero Net Now

      ZERO

      HIA Year
      HIA Status
      Winner
      HIA Category
      Housing Innovation Award

      Learn More

      Key Features

      Key Features
      All-electric home Cold-climate heat pump Energy / Heat recovery ventilator Electric Vehicle Charger Installed or Wired for Charger Ground source heat pump High-efficiency variable-speed heat pump Insulated concrete form (ICF) walls and/or foundation Photovoltaics Triple-pane windows Unvented insulated attic ACH 50 < 2.5 or CFM50/SF of enclosure ≤ 0.25 Central Manifold Plumbing Design

      Additional Details

      Additional Details
      Basement

      Read the Case Study

      Testimonials

      Home owner (or occupant) Testimony
      One Sunday afternoon after hiking nearby we stopped by one of Anthony's building sites on Cooper Street, when Anthony appeared and introduced himself. We talked about how a net zero home would make a lot of sense for people like us who wanted to get away from the city, but didn't want … the utility costs of … a second household. We embarked on a building project almost immediately. We now have a weekend home that is exactly what we wanted, but with the added benefits of being net zero – selling energy back to the grid while we're not there.
      Testimony Citation
      Homeowner

      Additional Media

      Finished Elevations

        Finished Interiors

          Under Construction

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            Other Images

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              Floor Plan