The height of the windows helps maximize the passive solar heat gained during the winter, and low-emissivity coatings help boost the energy performance of the windows and doors. In this case, a combination of coatings was used, including Low-E4® and HeatLock® technology. Low-E4 helps keep conditioned air inside the home while HeatLock technology is specially designed to keep heat from escaping the interior in a northern climate — learn more about our Low-E coatings.
And although the interior is truly flooded with natural light, there’s actually a 25% window-to-wall ratio because of the largely windowless walls that were reused on the northern and western sides. The home has 1.5 inches of continuous insulation and spray-foam in the cavity, helping the walls reach an R-Value of 34 — well beyond the R-Value of 24 required by code at the time of build. These high-performing walls help increase the efficiency of the HVAC systems, which include an air source heat pump, a heat pump water heater, and an energy recovery ventilator. Over 80% of the home’s power is generated by the south-oriented solar array hidden on the roof. The result of all these efforts is that the home not only exceeds local code but also has an Energy Use Intensity (EUI) of 3 — bringing it to nearly net zero, and much lower than the typical Chicago home, which might have an EUI of 49 if it meets baseline energy code. “We were extremely energy efficient, but we had to strike a balance between what would be comfortable for them and what would make the house beautiful,” said Booth.
