Ross Residence

Project Description: 

Our home is a 120-year-old farmhouse in downtown Amherst, MA. At the time of purchase, it had no insulation in the walls or attic, was heated by an oil furnace from the early 20th century, and was clad in mint-green asbestos shingles. Although walking distance to downtown, all of the public schools, and in a wonderful neighborhood, it gave us pause. On the plus side, the foundation was a quarter inch off of square, the framing was sound and the orientation produced a long south face. We seriously considered knocking it down but philosophically decided that we had stumbled on a perfect candidate for a deep energy retrofit. In short, we decided to keep as much of the structure of possible while attempting to address our needs now and into the future.

At no point was our goal to create a net zero house;Rather, we sought to make the best once-in-a-lifetime decisions. This approach led us to focus on creating a highly efficient building envelope. Our guiding principles for the functional design were few: (1) insist that every square foot be usable space (2) accommodate our young family with two children and a cat (3) establish spaces to accommodate the reality of our lives (mud room for kids boots, guest room for family and friends, and office for parents who work late), (4) allocate capital to core projects and leave long-term desires for a later date (garage and screened-in porch).

The result of our efforts is a highly efficient home with uncompromising aesthetics and comfort. The original footprint of the house is unchanged and yet we were able to massively upgrade the functional and energy efficiency of the site through smart design. For example, by removing and redesigning the roof, we were able to achieve three things: increase headroom in order to create a third-floor guest suite and office, remove a gable interrupting the south roof face to maximize space for PV, and create deep rafter bays for increased insulation. By clustering the auxiliary spaces in our home (office and guest suite) on the third floor and through our multi-zone heat pump system, we are able to “power down” those areas when not in use.

We have been in the house for a year and a half. It is a joy to live in. First, we relish living in a house designed to our needs and aesthetics. Our floor plan places living spaces on the south side and puts transition spaces on the north side so our primary living spaces and every bedroom is sun-splashed. Second, we are extremely proud to be a net clean energy producer. Despite running only electric appliances (including a lawn mower) we generate 30% more energy than we consume. We achieved these great heights by using a limited set of well-proven and accessible technologies and design elements. Our house is living proof that the existing housing stock of this country can be transformed to provide beauty, comfort, and sustainability.

Building Type Summary: 

single-family residence

Address: 

82 Cottage Street
Amherst, MA 01002
United States

Elevation: 

310

Lat. / Long.: 

POINT (-72.516968 42.383117)

Location Type: 

Suburaban

Köppen Climate Type: 

Dfb

Climate Region: 

Zone 5

Solar Insolation: 

3.54 kWh/m2/day

Annual HDD : 

6405

Annual CDD: 

932

HDD Base Temp: 

65 F

CDD Base Temp: 

65 F

Occupancy Type and Details: 

During the 12 month period for which data is collected, the building was occupied for 360 days of the year. This is our full time residence, and we were away for only one vacation during the observation period.
In addition, the house supported 1,710 person days. In addition to our family of 4, we also housed my sister’s family of 3 for a 3-month period (April – June 2011).

Number of stories: 

3

Conditioned Floor Area: 

3 268

Unconditioned Floor Area: 

1 200

Multiple buildings?: 

Total number of units in project (all buildings): 

1

Total floor area of project (all buildings): 

4 468

Historic?: 

Completion date: 

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Annual renewable energy generated: 

15 645

Electric Utility Company: 

WMECO

Datasets and Utility Bills sources and reliability: 

data sourced from utility bills

Electricity amount (imported from grid): 

9 415

Electricity amount (credited or exported to grid): 

15 645

Net electricity usage (purchased electricity): 

-6 230

Subslab assembly: 

Existing slab was retained; no sub-slab insulation installed.

Slab edge assembly: 

Existing slab was retained; no slab-edge insulation added.

Foundation wall assembly: 

Brick and Fieldstone foundation wall insulated to the inside with closed cell spray foam to R-30 (5 inches)

Above grade wall assembly: 

R-33+. Existing Above Grade Walls - 4” studs with existing board sheathing – retained. New Walls with 2x6 framing.
All walls insulated to the outside with (2) 1.5” layers of foil-faced polyiso, staggered and taped at all seams as air barrier.
Walls insulated to the inside with 4” (or 5.5”) Open Cell Spray Foam. Here, the use of open cell foam avoids a double vapor barrier at the above grade framing and sheathing, and provides further air barrier adhered to the existing board sheathing.

Flat attic assembly: 

Small portions of the third floor have flat ceilings, with lighting and refrigerant piping concealed above.

Cathedral ceiling assembly: 

Entire roof re-framed with 2x12 rafters to provide deep cavity for cellulose. Insulated to the outside with the same 3” of polyiso for an R-54 roof assembly.

Space heating - Manufacturer & Model: 

Air-source heat pump by Mitsubishi – VRF City Multi (One PUMY R410A S-series outdoor unit, Two PKFY wall-mounted indoor units, and Three PDFY ceiling concealed indoor units)

Space cooling - Manufacturer & Model: 

Air-source heat pump by Mitsubishi – VRF City Multi (One PUMY R410A S-series outdoor unit, Two PKFY wall-mounted indoor units, and Three PDFY ceiling concealed indoor units)

Domestic hot water - Manufacturer & Model: 

Air-source heat pump hot water heater by SteibelEltron (80 gal. Accelera 300)

Domestic hot water - capacity: 

80

Ventilation - Manufacturer & Model: 

VenmarHRV EKO 1.5 (Model No. 43900)

Finances Description: 

Our construction costs totaled $708,782. Excluding the design costs of $48,256 and site preparation and landscaping costs of ($32,500), leads to an adjusted project cost of $628,026. This includes costs for insulating our basement and construction management services.

Total Cost of Project: 

708 782

NESEA Awards: 

NESEA Zero Net Energy Building Award 2012 Winner

Energy Use and Production Documentation: 

Foundation wall R-value: 

30.00

Above grade wall R-value: 

33.00

Average window U-factor: 

0.15

Number of Bathrooms: 

3.50

Site conditions: 

preexisting structure(s)

Renewable Energy Sources: 

Renewable energy is generated within the building footprint (e.g. solar PV on the roof)

Window Description: 

49 windows from Fibertec, Casement 300 series. U-values range from 0.13 – 0.18 for fixed, awning, and casements.

Door Description: 

2 doors from Fibertec, 200 series, Triple-pane, low-e. 1 door from Simpson (Model 7008 w/ insulated glass)

Mechanical Equipment Installation Details and Comments: 

Lighting in the house is predominantly achieved through 46 Juno LED cans. In bedrooms and in bathrooms, ceiling mounts and sconces use CFLs and halogens. Total lighting is 0.88W/sf.

Number of Bedrooms: 

4

Status: 

Live

Zero Net Energy Definition Used: 

Source Energy Use

Basis of Performance Claim: 

Verified

Type of Construction: 

Retrofit

Renewable Energy System Type(s): 

Photovoltaics

Renewable Energy System Description & Details: 

54 Sunpower panels (SPR-230-WHT-U) and 3 Solectria inverters (PVI 5000 240V) Peak power of PV array 12.4 kW

Annual Renewable Energy Generated Data Type: 

Measured

Source of Annual Production Data: 

metered

Days per year Building is fully occupied: 

360

Submitter Contact Email: 

Submitter Contact Phone Number: 

(413) 549-5690

Project Type: 

Zero Energy

Lighting Manufacturer and Model: 

46 Juno LED cans

Weight: 

0