Zero Energy Design

I received an email from Adam from Zero Energy Design the other day, alerting me of his company and the work that they do.  I've had a lucky streak, this is the second new designer who's found me this month!  Regardless, Adam wrote to tell me of their recently completed project, the English residence, located in Orleans, Massachusetts.  What I like best about Zero Energy Design (ZED) is that they consider not just design, but energy and the health of the space, very much like what I do in my work, every day.  I don't come across this too often, but I hope to more and more!  Adam included a narrative that describes the space, which I'll share with you:

"The new home offers year round living and continues the legacy of a modern artistic home, treading lightly and focusing on the outdoor environment. New features include the clean, green feeling throughout the house, healthy indoor air quality, very comfortable and stable temperatures from the radiant floors, and exceptional energy performance with renewable energy systems. And, the artist family members immediately felt that the new home’s bright red, orange, and cedar colors really ‘made the house’."

"On the ground level, an open porch provides indoor/outdoor living with safe, step-down decking as stairs, which can also be used as seating for larger family events. A roof deck on the second level of the house offers the wonderful feeling of living in the trees, with a glass rail to open the view and an outdoor kitchen for entertaining. Abutting the roof deck is a lush, living green roof built to fill the view with green vegetation at eye level while seated, as well as provide insulative value, energy savings, and reduce roof run-off from storm water. The second level rooftop reveals 2.5 kilowatts of solar electric panels which provides ~30% of the home’s electricity."

{look at that green roof!  love, love, love}

"A wide open living space functions as the ‘heart’ of the home, with areas for relaxing, dining, and cooking. Recessed cabinets float off the floor and hide a vast pantry within the wall. Open shelves inspired by the client’s admiration for Julia Childs offer quick access to dishware. The generous counter space provides ample working area for food prep, stool seating for everyday use, and. a built–in wine rack to cradle each vintage.

"The construction of the home features specialized hurricane-resistant structural reinforcement and windows for coastal storm conditions, spray foam insulation in the wall cavities, rigid foam to eliminate thermal bridging, and a mix of fiber cement and cedar siding on the exterior for long term durability and low maintenance. Flooring finishes consist of rapidly renewable bamboo in the living areas, travertine tile at the entries, and recycled glass tile in the bathrooms, and FSC certified Garapa decking on the porch & roofdeck."

{that looks suspiciously like a biofireplace, (a portable, flueless fireplace that runs on denatured ethanol, which combusts nothing but oxygen and C02), we also have these at Sustain}

Here's a breakdown of the energy and health features of the house I mentioned before:

Energy
Grid-tied Solar Electric System, Solar Hot Water System Plumbed, Radiant Floors, Hydro Air System, Energy Recovery Ventilator, Open & Closed Cell Spray Foam Insulation, Rigid Insulation, ENERGY STAR Certified HERS 39

Health

Whole House Ventilation and Allergen Filtration System, Low or No VOC Materials/Sealants/Paints, Hard Floor Surfaces, Shoe Storage, Rainwater Management with Dry Wells, Motion Detection Ventilation in Bathrooms.

Construction for the home was completed by Cape Associates of Eastham, MA. This project is ENERGY STAR Certified, and has been registered with the USGBC LEED for Homes program in an effort to achieve LEED Gold certification.

Stay tuned for more from ZED.