BrightLeaf Homes built this 4,608-square-foot home in Brookfield, Illinois, to the performance criteria of the U.S. Department of Energy Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) program.

Beneath the rot-resistant fiber cement siding, a multilayered system of coated OSB sheathing, carefully layered and taped house wrap, and flexible tape flashing around doors, windows, and openings provides comprehensive protection against air and water leaks.

About half of the basement is above grade, allowing for plenty of daylight to enter the 36-inch-tall basement windows on both sides of the house.

Although packed with modern efficiency features, the BrightLeaf home’s traditional “prairie-cottage” style fits in with the established neighborhood’s older homes.

Nearly all of the home’s lighting is provided by ultra-efficient light emitting diode (LED) lamps.

The home has an ENERGY STAR dishwasher and laundry equipment for energy and water savings.

High-efficiency, triple-pane, vinyl-framed windows are much more efficient than standard windows.

A single plumbing wall on the second floor provides access for pipes to both bathrooms and the laundry room to limit the distance that hot water needs to travel.

All hot water lines are completely insulated to retain heat longer and minimize the amount of wasted water down the drain while waiting for hot water.

The home meets the requirements of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Indoor airPLUS certification, including using structural wood products, primer, paint, cabinets, and flooring that emit few or no air contaminants.

A continuous dimpled mat provides moisture protection for basement walls.

Coated OSB sheathing provides the first line of defense against moisture over the 2-by-4 framed walls.

Caulking the seam between the bottom plates and the subfloor and spray foaming the rough opening around the doors and windows are among the comprehensive draft protection techniques that helped this home achieve an air leakage test result of only .98 air changes per hour, three times more air-tight than is required by code.

This view from the attic side of the ceiling shows how every seam in the drywall and between the dry wall and the 2-by-4 top-plates is carefully caulked to stop air leaks.

Raised-heel trusses increase the roof height at the exterior walls so, after the ceiling drywall is installed, there will be more room for insulation over the eaves.

Builders sometimes “over-engineer” and use solid wood for the headers above doors and windows. BrightLeaf ran the calculations to determine how much wood was really needed to carry the roof load and filled the rest of the space with rigid foam for insulated headers.

Blown cellulose is dense-packed to completely fill the spaces between and around the 2-by-4 studs, which are staggered on the 2-by-6 top and bottom plates. Alternating studs are hidden from view in this photo because they are set back to align with the outside edge of the 2-by-6 allowing the inside edge to be covered with insulation, which effectively stops heat transfer through the wall.

The high-efficiency comfort system includes a 96% efficient gas furnace and a 14 SEER air conditioner. A dampered outside air duct on the HVAC air handler brings filtered fresh air into the home.