DOE Tour of Zero: The Johns Island Custom by Amerisips Homes, LLC

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Amerisips Homes, LLC, of Charleston, South Carolina, built this traditional home on Johns Island that achieves a Home Energy Rating System (HERS) score of 1, indicating it produces as much energy as it uses in a year.
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Amerisips Homes’ 2,085-square-foot coastal cottage is a certified U.S. DOE Zero Energy Ready Home.
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In addition to the DOE Zero Energy Ready Home certification, which includes ENERGY STAR and EPA Indoor airPLUS certifications, this home is also certified to the EPA WaterSense criteria and is rated LEED platinum.
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A 6-kW solar electric system meets all of the electricity needs of this home.
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This home is equipped with an ultra-efficient air-to-water heat pump, which provides heated and cooled air and hot water for domestic use. The heat pump has an efficiency rating of 4.5 COP for heating and 17.5 SEER for cooling and uses a fan coil system, which is extremely efficient at removing humidity from the practically airtight home.
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The home has a detached garage, which helps ensure the myriad of contaminants commonly found in garages stay out of the home.
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Ultra-efficient appliances save energy and often water.
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The kitchen is equipped with water-saving fixtures.
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The home’s high-efficiency appliances include an ENERGY STAR-labeled refrigerator and dishwasher.
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The home’s ultra-efficient, professionally installed comfort system incorporates filtered fresh air that is delivered throughout the home via leak-free, high-velocity, narrow-diameter ducts.
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The Amerisips home’s ultra-efficient, professionally installed comfort system includes a right-sized comfort delivery system consisting of high-velocity, narrow-diameter, 2-inch ducts that are barely visible in the ceiling soffits along the great hall.
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High-capture filtration technology ensures a nearly dust-free interior environment.
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High-efficiency, professionally installed ENERGY STAR windows have double panes, insulated frames, and low-emissivity coatings to provide quiet, comfortable interiors.
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High-efficiency ceiling fans provide low-cost comfort.
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Professionally installed high-performance windows let in light but keep out heat.
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The air-to-water heat pump is integrated with a solar-thermal water heater to provide combustion-free hot water.
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Advanced solid-state lighting technology is installed throughout the home -– 90% of the fixtures are LED.
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The home features a water- and energy-saving hot water distribution system that distributes hot water quickly and efficiently to faucets and plumbing fixtures throughout the home.
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The home’s water- and energy-saving hot water distribution system distributes water quickly and efficiently to faucets through PEX piping from a home-run distribution manifold.
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The home combines a solar hot water system with a high-efficiency heat pump water heater.
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The home’s advanced solar hot water heating system integrates roof-mounted solar hot water panels with an air-to-water heat pump; both sources feed into an 80-gallon stainless steel tank.
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Amerisips uses advanced structural insulated panel (SIP) technology to build its homes.
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Amerisips uses a SIP precision construction system with structural insulated panels consisting of a rigid foam layer sandwiched between two layers of oriented strand board (OSB) that come to the worksite sized to order and ready for quick assembly.
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The solid, airtight SIP panels provide comfortable, quiet interiors and comprehensive draft protection.
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Amerisips uses 6.5-inch-thick SIP wall panels and 8.25-inch SIP roof panels for continuous thermal blanket construction.
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The Amerisips SIP wall and roof panels combine roof and wall structure, insulation, and sheathing in one step for quick, easy assembly of walls and cathedral roofs.
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"We got in our first full-month electric bill and it’s $30.02. How’s that for green!"

DOE Tour of Zero: Johns Island Custom by Amerisips Homes LLC infographic: Charleston, SC; amerisips.com. 2,085 square feet, HERS score 1, $25 average monthly energy bill, $3,200 annual savings, $136,000 saved in the first 30 years.
Key features list: High-performance insulation system for enhanced quiet and comfort, comprehensive draft protection, fresh air system for cleaner indoor air, high-efficiency comfort system, energy-efficient appliances and advanced lighting technology for

“We are extremely happy with the quality of construction, the energy savings, and the air quality of our new Amerisips home. We got in our first full-month electric bill after hooking up the two-way meter and it is $30.02. How’s that for green!”

– Homeowners Bill and Daphne

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