This is a certified U.S. DOE Zero Energy Ready Home by Clifton View Homes on Whidbey Island in the Puget Sound in Western Washington. The lucky homeowners have utility bills of less than $100 per year.
Photo courtesy of Clifton View Homes
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High-efficiency ENERGY STAR appliances, advanced solid-state lighting technology, and water-saving plumbing fixtures save energy and water.
Photo courtesy of Clifton View Homes
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The walls and ceilings use structural insulated panel (SIP) construction with two layers of oriented strand board (OSB) sandwiching a 6- to 10-inch-thick layer of rigid foam insulation for a continuous thermal blanket around the entire home.
Photo courtesy of Clifton View Homes
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Comprehensive draft protection includes rigid foam insulation sprayed in the rim joists, and SIP panels glued together with a double bead of caulk.
Photo courtesy of Clifton View Homes
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Advanced SIP technology panels come to the jobsite straight, dry, and precisely cut for quick assembly, a plus in the often-damp Pacific Northwest climate.
Photo courtesy of Clifton View Homes
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The 7-kilowatt solar electric system more than covers the electric needs of the home. An ultra-efficient geo heat pump comfort system serves the heating and cooling needs, which are extremely low thanks to the high-efficiency enclosure including energy-saving SIP construction, ultra-efficient triple-pane windows, and natural comfort orientation and shading, which allows available sunlight to heat the stained concrete thermal mass floors in winter and block unwanted solar heat in the summer.
Photo courtesy of Clifton View Homes
"When we show homebuyers they can have a zero energy house for the same cost … they don’t want to go anywhere else."
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“We’ve had a lot of referrals to neighbors and others in town. When we show homebuyers they can have a zero energy house for the same cost as a regular house, they don’t want to go anywhere else.”
– Ted Clifton, builder and owner of Zero Energy Plans