By Mike Berry, Apex Technology
In an effort to keep our heads out of the clouds of energy-efficient building, a few E-Council members have put pen to paper, hammer to nail, heat pump to ducts, overhang to low-E window — you get the point.
We are designing and building a new home on the river in St. Johns County. This home is approximately 2,900 square feet and is a great example of a comprehensive, efficient design on a budget.
On a budget means we are not throwing in loads of solar panels, a geothermal heat pump, LEED certification, free-range chickens, or even a windmill that generates enough power to blog about composting.
No, we just thought, “If we are going to all the trouble of spending a couple hundred thousand dollars, let’s make some smart decisions along the way.”
Heading up the effort is Jeff King, E-Council president and owner of King Construction.
We started off knowing the house is a system and if you change one thing, it would likely affect something else, so we methodically started our decision making to try to get the most bang for the homeowner’s buck.
Some product and materials we chose were: vinyl frame-insulated glass-low E windows, a 1-SEER, two-stage heat pump, fresh air by mechanical ventilation, a hybrid heat pump electric water heater, low-flush toilets, R-19 fiberglass wall insulation, Zip system sheathing, spray foam in the attic, low- or no-VOC paint, and Energy Star appliances and lighting. Some design techniques were smart framing (ladder framing), three-stud corners, and right-sized headers), engineer-designed HVAC system which was coordinated with the roof and floor truss design, and proper testing and commissioning of the building envelope and HVAC installation.
We think this is a cool project and we would like to share with everyone.
The E-Council will be hosting a “Building Science Open House” a couple of times this year to demonstrate, educate and discuss this project.
We are planning to have an open house prior to drywall so we can look at the bones and an open house upon completion to see the end product.
Stayed tuned to the E-Council web site, ecounciljax.org, for more event details. And don’t forget to check out our site’s energy blog to see pictures and discussions of the progress.
We look forward to seeing you there!