DOE Tour of Zero: Hickory Ridge by Greenhill Contracting
Photos
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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.
Photo courtesy of Greenhill Contracting
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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.
Photo courtesy of Greenhill Contracting
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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.
Photo courtesy of Greenhill Contracting
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A daylight basement and insulated attic mean three floors of living space plus storage in the compact structure.
Photo courtesy of Greenhill Contracting
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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.
Photo courtesy of Greenhill Contracting
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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.
Photo courtesy of Greenhill Contracting
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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.
Photo courtesy of Greenhill Contracting
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Seams in the ICF block are sealed so the EPS foam surface can serve as the drainage plane; no house wrap is needed.
Photo courtesy of Greenhill Contracting
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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.
Photo courtesy of Greenhill Contracting
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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.
Photo courtesy of Greenhill Contracting
“The DOE Zero Energy Ready threshold can be achieved without any significant costs over a code-built home.”
– Anthony Aebi, Greenhill Contracting
“Greenhill Contracting has been 100% committed to building DOE Zero-Energy Homes since 2007. The team has worked tirelessly to reduce the construction costs associated with high-performance homes including developing continuous improvement strategies. At this point, with the use of ICF and spray foam thermal and air-control strategies, the DOE Zero Energy Ready threshold can be achieved without any significant costs over a code-built home.”
– Anthony Aebi, builder, Greenhill Contracting
