DOE Tour of Zero: WayStone Farm by Celebration Green Design and Build

Celebration Green Design and Build built this 3,400-square-foot custom home in Guilford, Connecticut, to the high performance criteria of the U.S. Department of Energy Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) program.

This home in rural Connecticut was built to be a true zero energy performer with high energy efficiency and a 12.6-kW photovoltaic system.

ENERGY STAR appliances add to water and energy savings.

All of the home’s faucets are EPA WaterSense rated for water savings.

An advanced ground-source heat pump comfort system provides heating and cooling to the home.

The home’s exterior walls consist of two 2-by-4 walls. The interior face of the exterior wall is completely covered with 2 inches of closed-cell spray foam, then the double wall cavity is filled with dense-packed cellulose for a continuous R-49 blanket of wall insulation.

The attic is wrapped in a 3-inch blanket of closed-cell foam sprayed on the underside of the roof deck. The rafter bays were further filled with high-density fiberglass batts.

Air-sealing tape carefully seals the seams around the window framing.

Every seam in the plywood was taped before installing house wrap to improve the home’s airtightness.

An energy recovery ventilator fresh air system provides filtered fresh air to every room in the house.