DOE Tour of Zero: Euclid Avenue by Heirloom Design Build
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Heirloom Design Build built this 4,840-square-foot home in Atlanta, Georgia, to the performance criteria of the U.S. Department of Energy Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) program.
Photo courtesy of Heirloom Design Build
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While the two-story home was designed to fit aesthetically into the historic neighborhood, energy-efficiency features will save the homeowners $1,909 a year in utility bills compared to a home built to the 2009 IECC.
Photo courtesy of Heirloom Design Build
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The urban infill home combined high-performance features with amenities to earn several awards including Southface Energy’s Project of the Year 2014, the Greater Atlanta Homebuilders’ Best Earthcraft House over 2,000 square feet and Best Home over 2,000 square feet and the Atlanta Urban Design Commission’s Award of Excellence for New Construction in 2014, as well as a DOE 2015 Housing Innovation Award.
Photo courtesy of Heirloom Design Build
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The natural daylight home’s 32 windows are double-paned and have advanced low-emissivity coatings to reduce unwanted solar heat gain in the summer and heat loss in the winter.
Photo courtesy of Heirloom Design Build
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An ENERGY STAR-rated refrigerator, dishwasher, and clothes washer reduce energy and water use.
Photo courtesy of Heirloom Design Build
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Extensive air sealing around windows and fireplaces, caulking of every stud to the sheathing, and two tests of whole-house air leakage during construction help to ensure a draft-free home.
Photo courtesy of Heirloom Design Build
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The builder helped to ensure clean indoor air for the home’s occupants by installing a high-capture filter (MERV 16) on the home’s high efficiency heat pump (12.5 HSPF 22.8 SEER) and adhering to the guidelines of the EPA’s Indoor airPLUS program.
Photo courtesy of Heirloom Design Build
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Advanced solid-state lighting technology is installed throughout the home -– 100% of the fixtures are LED.
Photo courtesy of Heirloom Design Build
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The home uses no-VOC paints and finishes to help minimize contaminants for healthier indoor air.
Photo courtesy of Heirloom Design Build
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The home earned an EPA WaterSense certification, including water-saving plumbing fixtures in the bathrooms and kitchen that reduce both energy and water usage.
Photo courtesy of Heirloom Design Build
“The asthma symptoms have been dramatically reduced, enough that daily medication has been eliminated."
“Since moving into the Zero Energy Ready Home, we have found a vast improvement in indoor air quality. One of the occupants suffers from asthma. Since moving into the home, the asthma symptoms have been dramatically reduced, enough that daily medication has been eliminated. We attribute this to the tightness of the envelope … achieved through advanced framing techniques, various air-sealing measures, spraying the envelope with open- and closed-cell insulation. Incoming air gets processed through the ERV, a MERV 16 filter, UV sterilization, and dehumidification.”
– Dave Radlman, founder, Heirloom Design
