United Way of Long Island built this 1,360-square-foot affordable home in East Patchogue, New York, to the high performance criteria of the U.S. Department of Energy Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) program.

This affordable home combines energy-efficient construction and roof-mounted PV panels for a home so efficient, its homeowners should have utility bills of about $5 per month.

The compact house design and rectangular shape are the start of a super-efficient home that earned a HERS score of -15, which means it produces more power than the home will use, so there may be power left over to run an electric car or sell back to the grid.

All LED lighting, ENERGY STAR appliances and ceiling fans, an induction cooktop, and low-flow plumbing fixtures all add to energy savings in the highly efficient home.

The home uses advanced framing techniques like 2-by-6, 24-inch on-center construction, minimal framing around windows, and insulated heaters to reduce lumber use and increase space for insulation in the walls.

Rick Wertheim, United Way of Long Island's vice-president for green programs, instructs workers in proper construction techniques as part of the agency's training programs.

The vaulted roof area of the home is insulated along the roof line with R-74 of blown fiberglass.

The vaulted ceiling and walls are filled with blown fiberglass insulation. The outside of the walls are also wrapped in 2 inches (R-10) of XPS rigid foam.

The trusses over the flat-ceiling portion of the home were special-ordered to include a 2-foot by 4-foot chase running down the center of the home. This chase was lined with rigid foam that was taped or foamed at all seams to form an airtight insulated space to house the home's ducted mini-split HVAC system.

The home's high-efficiency 9.8 HSPF, 16.2 SEER ducted mini-split heat pump is housed in the insulated duct chase built into the attic. It has four duct ports to provide zoned heating and cooling to the entire home with efficient comfort, no noise, and very little room-to-room temperature variation.