The plan was straight-forward – create a very traditional-looking cape-style home that is extremely energy-efficient. To achieve this goal, strategies employed include:
- Taking maximum advantage of solar orientation and wind direction
- Designing a building envelope of highly-insulated double-stud walls with minimal thermal bridging and careful detailing to seal potential air leaks
- Utilizing an electric mini-split heat pump system for heating and cooling
- Incorporating an ERV (Energy Recovery Ventilator) system to recapture heat energy from stale indoor air and transferring it to fresh intake air
- Specifying insulated windows with simulated divided lites (SDL) to invoke the look of traditional divided-lite windows
- Creating a small, compact design that meets the couple’s needs without adding seldom-used unnecessary spaces
- Using traditional finishing materials with careful attention to historic detailing
Vernacular Green Design 