Carbon Neutral Home
PROJECT LOCATION: Rockingham County, Virginia
CONTRACTOR: Beck Builders
PHOTOGRAPHY: Susan Beck with Beck Builders
A new home and a research project, this client brought a higher level challenge to us. He wanted to build a carbon neutral home and wanted to document the process and test the results. Every project we work on is custom and this one is no different. Our client brought a very strong idea of what the house would aesthetically look like and we worked with the builder to figure out how to economically make it possible while incorporating building science best practices. We added to this academic research to verify most decisions to make sure they were not assumptions, but tested and proven theories for building science practices so that our client could publish the results for the most economical way to build sustainably. The home features ICF, triple pane windows and doors, LED, very efficient HVAC system (geothermal), ERV and more. There is a solar array on the roof providing for all the energy needs in the home and offsetting the home owners carbon footprint making the home carbon neutral.