Net-Zero Passive Country House

2018Illinois GreenStarS.N. Peck, Builder, Inc.Single FamilyNew Construction2016

Jul 1

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A sustainable, green home in the rare black oak savanna eco-system with a goal of net-zero energy use.

HOUSE DESCRIPTION:
The building of this lovely home began in 2014 and was completed in the first part of 2016. We were lucky in finding this property of 20 acres of black oak savanna in the Kankakee Sands area. The house is in an east-west axis, where it acts as solar collector with a lot of windows on the south elevation. It has concrete floors to act as a heat sink. The house was designed with 12″ walls (R47) and 16″ ceilings (R68) and a “butterfly” roof which provides a structure for the solar 3.6 KW PV system and a solar thermal system for hot water for domestic use and a radiant heating system. The “butterfly” roof also is a funnel for collection of water with a 2500 gal. cistern for landscape water needs. We are still living in the house to determine whether net-zero energy use can be achieved.

Additionally, the roof assembly are 14″ trusses with three inches of closed-cell foam and eleven inches of dense-pack cellulose (+/-R-60). The heating source is only the radiant heat system in the concrete floor which is heated by an electric hybrid hot water heater which is interconnected with the solar thermal system. The solar PV system is a 3.6KW system and the solar thermal system has 8 panels. The windows in the house are triple-glazed windows with a U factor of 0.125. Eighty percent of the windows are on the south side with no windows on the east and west side and small number of the north side for light. The home also features an ERV system. The traditional stucco system on the exterior was chosen for its durability.