Overview of Features

Living Space
  • 2,000 square feet of living space with a semi-attached 2 car garage
  • 3 bedrooms + study and 2 baths, with master bedroom on first floor
  • Energy Star appliances and lighting
  • Environmentally preferable materials and finishes
Health & Comfort
  • Hybrid heating, heat recovery ventilation, and hot water systems
  • Geothermal loop for ventilation air preheat
  • Radon mitigation system
Energy Efficiency
  • Envelope insulation values (for walls, roof, slab, and windows) nearly twice what code requires:
  • Double stud exterior walls with R-36 cellulose insulation
  • Cellulose attic insulation levels of R-60
  • Frost protected slab foundation with underslab insulation R-20
  • Rim insulation R-31
  • Triple pane fiberglass windows U-0.20
  • Assembly details for superior air tightness
  • Design heating load of less than 18,000 Btu/hr, or about 8 Btu/square foot
  • Detailed energy analysis using REM Design modeling software
Renewable Energy
  • Solar-oriented site plan and space planning
  • 2 kW roof-mounted solar photovoltaic (electric) array
  • 16-tube solar thermal collector for domestic hot water

Web Content created by Wagner Zaun Architecture and Conservation Technologies under a grant from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency 2007