Quick stats
Stories: 2 (plus finished and conditioned basement)
Square footage: 4,763 square feet
Bedrooms: 5
Bathrooms: 4 ½
Green certification: NGBS-Emerald, Passive House Institute US-PHIUS+ Certified Passive House, DOE Challenge Home
Chicagoland’s First Certified Passive House is a 2014 Green Awards Honorable Mention for Single-Family: Custom and was submitted by Weiss Building & Development. One of the first Department of Energy Challenge Homes in the US, this passive house also has a HERS rating of 27, compared with the average home at a rating of 100. The passive home’s design is meant to keep the home and inhabitants healthier all while saving the money on the utility home owners – the estimated annual energy cost for the home is only $1,052. Here are some of the green features included in the home:
Green building and site features
The home’s heating load is just 13,500 BTUs (heating comes from sunlight, internal gains from appliances and cooking, body heat of the inhabitants, lighting, and just two wall mount mini-split heat pumps)- An energy recovery ventilator (ERV) that recovers 93% of the energy from outgoing air when conditioning incoming air
- The indoor air quality will continue to be tested throughout the first year of occupancy to ensure that the home has a healthy interior
- 96% of waste was diverted from landfills
- Built to be outfitted with solar PV in the future
- A green roof over the front porch
- Solar hot water
- Low flow fixtures and efficient lighting throughout
- Reuse of windows and bricks from the old house
Find out how your green project can win Best in Green in the 2015 NAHB Green Awards here: www.nahb.org/greenawards.
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