DOE Tour of Zero: Hickory Ridge by Greenhill Contracting
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Greenhill Contracting built this 3,912-square-foot custom home in Gardiner, New York, to the high performance criteria of the U.S. Department of Energy Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) program.
The 10.26-kW PV system and highly insulated structure help the home perform as a net zero home that produces as much energy as it uses in a year.
The lack of pipes, flues, and vents coming out of this roof is a good thing. It means less holes where heat can leak out and water can leak in.
A daylight basement and insulated attic mean three floors of living space plus storage in the compact structure.
No-/low-VOC paints and finishes and an energy recovery ventilator fresh air system that continually draws in filtered fresh air help ensure clean air inside the home.
The basement slab is wrapped in a blanket of insulation including R-27 of closed-cell spray foam under the slab and R-22 ICF blocks wrapping the slab edges.
Wiring runs are covered with canned spray foam to maintain the continuous foam layer that covers the inside and outside of the ICF block walls.
Seams in the ICF block are sealed so the EPS foam surface can serve as the drainage plane; no house wrap is needed.
Before installing the triple-pane vinyl framed windows, the window rough openings are sealed with a liquid-applied flashing that provides a seamless moisture and air barrier to protect the wall from moisture intrusion.
The attics are insulated to R-64 with a hybrid application of 11 inches of open-cell spray foam (R-4.45/in) plus 2 inches of closed-cell spray foam (R-7.4/in) that completely fills the roof rafter cavities and encases the rafters creating a continuous blanket of insulation across the attic ceiling.