A project for Mike Trolle, co owner of Building Performance Construction
Services, who began his company after working many years as a
real estate broker.

He projected that if he could build houses that were
environmentally responsible and also were beneficial to the health of the
occupants, that a speculative project would have more appeal in the
market.

Mike hired us to not only work with him as Architects, but also
to advise and learn with him the fundamentals of building science. Very
quicky he became an equal in the understanding of moisture movement
and construction practices. He pushed us futher than most clients, and
asked very good questions.

The house is small for the market at 2,200 sf including the walk out
basement. We employed numerous strategies that held little value in
conventional appraisal terms, but added signifiantly to the value and performance
of the house. These include double stud exterior walls, raised
heal scissor trusses, pultruded fiberglass framed windows with warm
edge spacers, a full rainscreen siding system, provision for future solar
applications by orienting the house properly and keeping vents off the
south surface, precast foundation with integral insulation, and tested air
sealing and ducts.

The mechanical system was designed with Bill Rock Smith and utlized
fully sealed ducts with mastic, and energy recovery ventilator, central
dehumidifier, HEPA filtration, and central air conditioning. Finishes were
selected to minimize the contaminants brought into the space. For example, wood flooring was pre-finished and smoking was banned from
the property. A central vaccum system was installed to facilitate cleaning
and a radon control system provided.

Estimated Energy Use:  57.1 MBtu/yr or $691 (2000 $)

Estimated Energy Use Intensity (EUI): 25.9 kBtus/sf/yr

Average EUI for US Single Family Detached Residence (2003): 44.7 kBtus/sf/yr

Total envelope CFM at 50 pascals was 646

Energy star rating - 92.8

The house was featured in a New York Times article and has been the
subject of an EEBA success story.

Building Performance Construction Services website.

To download a pdf of the Project Summary, click here.