DOE Tour of Zero: The Eco-Friendly Home by Ferguson Design and Construction Inc.
Photos
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This high-performance custom home in The Hamptons on Long Island, New York, by Ferguson Design and Construction is a certified U.S. DOE Zero Energy Ready Home.
Photo courtesy of Ferguson Design and Construction
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The 5,088-square-foot solar electric ready home has wiring in place and roof area available for an 8.6-kW photovoltaic system. This high-performance home is expected to save its homeowners more than $2,500 per year compared to a minimum-code home, and nearly double that amount when a solar electric system is added.
Photo courtesy of Ferguson Design and Construction
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The open floor plan allows natural daylight to fill the interior.
Photo courtesy of Ferguson Design and Construction
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The home meets all of the requirements of the U.S. EPA’s Indoor airPLUS program, including the requirement to use low-/no-VOC paints, finishes, and cabinetry. Some of the furniture in the home is made from wood reclaimed from trees on the site.
Photo courtesy of Ferguson Design and Construction
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The home’s high-efficiency windows use double-pane glass filled with argon gas for additional insulating value. Insulated fiberglass frames and special low-emissivity coatings that keep heat in during the winter and out during the summer also increase the efficiency of the windows.
Photo courtesy of Ferguson Design and Construction
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Water-saving EPA WaterSense-labeled fixtures and energy-saving ENERGY STAR-labeled appliances increase the home’s water and energy savings.
Photo courtesy of Ferguson Design and Construction
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All of the lighting fixtures in the Ferguson Design home use advanced solid-state lighting technology.
Photo courtesy of Ferguson Design and Construction
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The Ferguson home is wrapped in a double-wall thermal blanket consisting of two 2-by-4 framed walls that form a 7-inch-thick wall cavity filled with blown-in fiberglass insulation.
Photo courtesy of Ferguson Design and Construction
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The studs of the double-wall construction are staggered to prevent thermal bridging through the framing for a continuous thermal blanket.
Photo courtesy of Ferguson Design and Construction
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Blown fiberglass fills the walls and roof cavities, providing a continuous thermal blanket around the home.
Photo courtesy of Ferguson Design and Construction
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These exterior walls are sheathed with a coated rigid foam insulation that is sealed at all seams with tape to provide a continuous thermal blanket and comprehensive draft protection.
Photo courtesy of Ferguson Design and Construction
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A high-efficiency gas boiler provides hot water to the faucets and to the radiant floor heating loop in the basement. The boiler also provides heat for a hydro-coil central air heating system.
Photo courtesy of Ferguson Design and Construction
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The dry-by-design exterior walls start with a coated rigid foam sheathing product that is sealed with tape at all seams, then covered with a mesh air spacer to effectively drain water behind clapboard and cedar shake siding.
Photo courtesy of Ferguson Design and Construction