BrightLeaf Homes built this 4,608-square-foot production home in La Grange, Illinois, to the high performance criteria of the U.S. Department of Energy Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) program.

The home was designed on a 2-foot grid, starting with its 32-by-48-foot footprint, and incorporated several advanced framing concepts including two-stud corners on exterior walls, ladder blocking on interior partitions, right-sized and insulated headers, and window sizing aligned with the wall studs to minimize extra framing. These steps reduced the amount of wood in the walls, leaving more space for insulation.

ENERGY STAR-rated reflective shingles cover the roof while minimal roof penetrations leave more space for photovoltaic panels.

WaterSense-labeled faucets and plumbing fixtures and ENERGY STAR-rated appliances add to water and energy savings.

The home is equipped with a balanced whole-house ventilation system consisting of an electronic controller that coordinates a damper on the fresh air intake with the variable-speed furnace motor and a high-performance exhaust fan to provide fresh air as needed based on the occupant load.

Domestic hot water is provided with a natural-gas-fired tankless hot water heater with an energy factor of 0.97. A motion-sensor-activated recirculation pump speeds hot water to master bath fixtures, while fixtures for the other bathrooms and the laundry are located along a shared wall, minimizing the distance the hot water needs to travel.

All of the home’s light fixtures have LED bulbs. Although the basement has recessed canned lighting, BrightLeaf minimized the chances of air leaks to the attic by installing very few recessed can lights in the second-floor ceiling.

The basement walls are covered with a dimpled plastic water barrier then wrapped with 3 inches of XPS rigid foam with seams taped to keep out water.

A coated OSB product with taped seams covers the walls to serve as both sheathing and weather-resistant barrier.

The exterior walls are constructed of 2-by-4 studs staggered on 2-by-6 top and bottom plates so that alternating studs align with the interior or exterior edge of the stud, allowing the blown cellulose insulation to wrap around the studs and provide a continuous thermal break through the wall. The raised heel energy trusses are spray foamed up to the baffles. After the ceiling drywall is installed, interior wall top plates will also be spray foamed to close air leaks before 16 inches (R-60) of cellulose is blown over the attic floor.