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A New Energy-Efficient Home in the D.C. Community
On December 4, 2012, the Empowerhouse team, along with partners and community members, completed the installation of a permanent, two-family home in Washington, D.C. The home was originally showcased as part of the U.S Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon 2011.
Image: Sarah Gerrity
Date taken: Tue, 2012-12-04 12:22
1 of 27A New Energy-Efficient Home in the D.C. Community
On December 4, 2012, the Empowerhouse team, along with partners and community members, completed the installation of a permanent, two-family home in Washington, D.C. The home was originally showcased as part of the U.S Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon 2011.
Image: Sarah Gerrity
Date taken: 2012-12-04 12:22
2 of 27The house is located in the D.C. neighborhood of Deanwood, which is just 10 miles from the National Mall. By installing the house nearby, the team was able to minimize shipping costs, therefore reducing the house's carbon footprint.
Image: Sarah Gerrity
Date taken: 2012-12-04 09:00
3 of 27Kitchen and Living Area
Interior design students selected sustainable, affordable furnishings and fittings with an eye toward the character of the neighborhood.
Image: Sarah Gerrity
Date taken: 2012-12-04 09:00
4 of 27Kitchen and Dining Area
Materials were selected according to a series of criteria including: affordability, green certification, embodied energy, non-toxicity, livability, constructability and overall environmental impact. Meeting these criteria ensures Empowerhouse is an affordable, buildable home, with healthy indoor air quality. Low-embodied energy materials that are non-toxic and locally sourced were used whenever available & economically feasible.
Image: Sarah Gerrity
Date taken: 2012-12-04 09:01
5 of 27High Performance Windows and Doors
Windows are oriented and installed to take advantage of passive-solar heat gain. The windows are air tight, include thermal breaks, minimize air infiltration and exfiltration, which results in a high R-value. Low-emissivity (low-e) coatings, microscopically thin, transparent layers of metal or metallic oxide deposited on the surface of the glass, further increase the R-value.
Image: Sarah Gerrity
Date taken: 2012-12-04 09:00
6 of 27Living Room and Stairway
The stair loft brings light deep into the center of the home. Interior window trim is splayed to maximize views and daylight; and reduce glare, contrast and the apparent thickness of the walls.
Image: Sarah Gerrity
Date taken: 2012-12-04 09:00
7 of 27Energy-Efficient Appliances
The Empowerhouse team partnered with sponsors, some of which donated energy-efficient appliances towards the construction of both homes.
Image: Sarah Gerrity
Date taken: 2012-12-04 10:49
8 of 27A Winning Example
Empowerhouse is the result of a community-based approach to building affordable, ultra-efficient housing that addresses all aspects of domestic life.
Image: Sarah Gerrity
Date taken: 2012-12-04 10:36
9 of 27Downstairs Bedroom
General artificial lighting is provided by low cost, high efficiency linear fluorescents and LED light sources that reflect off of the vertical and horizontal surfaces of the house, while focused activities are addressed with additional task lighting. These systems complement each other to create a rich and varied living environment.
Image: Sarah Gerrity
Date taken: 2012-12-04 13:29
10 of 27Downstairs Bathroom
Every aspect of the energy-efficient home is designed to minimize energy consumption, whether they are wireless switches that use less energy to communicate or low-flow fixtures to ensure efficient consumption of water.
Image: Sarah Gerrity
Date taken: 2012-12-04 13:32
11 of 27Back Porch
Materials were selected according to a series of criteria including: affordability, green certification, embodied energy, non-toxicity, livability, constructability and overall environmental impact.
Image: Sarah Gerrity
Date taken: 2012-12-04 10:40
12 of 27Upstairs Landing
A centrally-placed, large window on the upper level of the home maximizes the amount of natural light flow throughout the home.
Image: Sarah Gerrity
Date taken: 2012-12-04 09:00
13 of 27Upstairs Bedroom
Image: Sarah Gerrity
Date taken: 2012-12-04 09:00
14 of 27Upstairs Bedroom
Image: Sarah Gerrity
Date taken: 2012-12-04 09:00
15 of 27Green Rooftop Deck
The house is equipped with a rain garden that collects and filters storm-water from the roof for use in the gardens.
Image: Sarah Gerrity
Date taken: 2012-12-04 09:31
16 of 27Green Rooftop Deck
The rain garden system minimizes the amount of potable city water used for irrigation, as well as reducing the water that is drained into the public sewer system.
Image: Sarah Gerrity
Date taken: 2012-12-04 09:00
17 of 27Empowerhouse
This house empowers the homeowners with the ability to grow their own produce. Planters are designed for growing fruits and vegetables, promoting a healthy diet and saving the family the cost of buying produce.
Image: Sarah Gerrity
Date taken: 2012-12-04 09:27
18 of 27Introducing: Empowerhouse
Steven Scribner, the student who served as project manager for Empowerhouse, discusses the goals of the team when building the house.
Image: Sarah Gerrity
Date taken: 2012-12-04 09:00
19 of 27Introducing: Empowerhouse
Members of the local community joined Empowerhouse and its partners in welcoming the families into their new homes.
Image: Sarah Gerrity
Date taken: 2012-12-04 09:00
20 of 27Eager to Move In
One of the youngest members of Empowerhouse's families points towards the house before he and his family is taken on their first tour of their new home.
Image: Sarah Gerrity
Date taken: 2012-12-04 10:49
21 of 27Richard King, Department of Energy
Image: Sarah Gerrity
Date taken: 2012-12-04 09:01
22 of 27A Warm Welcome to the Neighborhood
One of the new homeowners, Layika Culley, speaks to the gathering in front of her new home.
Image: Sarah Gerrity
Date taken: 2012-12-04 09:00
23 of 27A Celebration
One of the new homeowners, Layika Culley, and her family cut the ribbon to her new ultra-efficient home in the historic Deanwood neighborhood.
Image: Sarah Gerrity
Date taken: 2012-12-04 09:00
24 of 27A Celebration
One of the new homeowners, Layika Culley, and her family cut the ribbon to her new ultra-efficient home in the historic Deanwood neighborhood.
Image: Sarah Gerrity
Date taken: 2012-12-04 09:00
25 of 27A Celebration
One of the new homeowners, Layika Culley, and her family cut the ribbon to her new ultra-efficient home in the historic Deanwood neighborhood.
Image: Sarah Gerrity
Date taken: 2012-12-04 09:00
26 of 27Super Insulation
The exterior envelope is super insulated and composed of 12” deep, engineered wood I-joists sandwiched between two layers of wood sheathing. The cavity is filled with dense pack cellulose insulation achieving an R-Value over 40.
Image: Sarah Gerrity
Date taken: 2012-12-04 09:00
27 of 27Solar Panels
A solar array produces all of the energy to heat and cool the home, power the lighting, and run the hot water heater and electric appliances, eliminating electricity bills for the Deanwood families.
Image: Sarah Gerrity
Date taken: 2012-12-04 09:00
Washington, District of Columbia
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