FREDERICK NET ZERO HOUSE  |  RESIDENTIAL

The Parker Vaughan home is a blend of country farm house and contemporary architecture with state of the art energy efficiency and solar power. The home is 3,000 square feet on a little over 5 acres with 3 bedrooms, 2 ½ baths, screen porch and 2 car garage. The master suite features a spectacular spa like bath with roof top deck free standing tub and a fireplace.  The home is a custom new home by Sustainable Design Group designed to be completely energy independent, charge the owners 2 electric cars and have no energy bills. It is also designed to provide the most healthful indoor environment for the occupants.  

The home is designed to maximize the sun coming into the building all winter providing free solar heat and great daylight all winter. The heating system never comes on during the day in the winter. To keep the heat in, the home is highly insulated with 12” thick insulated walls, 18” attic insulation and spray foam air sealing to prevent air infiltration. The windows are designed for the orientation. The south windows have a high solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) to let the solar heat in the winter. The East, West and North windows have a very low SHGC to block the summer sun and prevent overheating. The south windows are shaded in the summer with retractable awnings. 

The heating system is a geothermal heat pump that also provides the hot water. Waste heat from the geothermal system heats the water for free in the summer. Ventilation is provided by an energy recovery ventilation system (ERV).  The ERV provides a continuous supply of fresh air to the home while recovering the energy in the exhaust air to precondition the fresh air. All the lighting is LED and Energy Star rated appliances.

The home is 100% solar powered with a battery backup system. The home can run independently of the utility indefinitely with this system. The owners will never be without power. There is approximately 6kW of solar on the roof and 4 – 250 amp hour 12v batteries for back up. The heating is backed up with a 95% efficient propane furnace and the hot water is backed up with a propane water heater. Cooking is propane and there are 2 propane fireplaces that can also heat the home.  The solar system is also used to charge the owners 2 electric cars for daily driving.