Acton Passive House Awarded at Phius Passive House Design Competition

ZED’s Acton Passive House was a winner in the Source Zero Category of the 2022 Phius Passive Projects Design Competition. To even be considered, projects had to be Passive House Certified by Phius, and competed against the best of the best in passive design. In addition to being PHIUS+ 2018 Certified, the Acton Passive House also attained Source Zero certification, an additional designation indicating that the home produces any remainder of energy demand with on-site renewable energy.

The Source Zero category was one of 8 medals awarded at ‘PhiusCon’ 2022, held in Chicago’s historic Palmer House Hotel. This recognition is testament to the Acton Passive House’s incredible performance. With rooftop solar panels, the home is projected to produce more energy than it uses over the course of a year, making it net positive energy as reflected in the negative pEUI (-3.81kBtu/sf/yr).

The 8th Annual Phius Passive Projects Design Competition Awards Ceremony recognized a winner and honorable mention in each category, with submissions from throughout the United States and Canada. Categories were: Single-Family, High-Rise Multifamily, Low-Rise Multifamily, Commercial/Institutional, Retrofit, Source Zero, Best Project by a Young Professional, and Best Overall Project. All awardees pushed the boundaries of passive building design.

MORE: ARCHINECT NEWS PUBLISHES WINNERS

MORE: PHIUS PROJECT DATA

List of Winners:

Phius Project Data:

ZED WINS SILVER IN 2022 PRISM AWARDS

ZeroEnergy Design’s Acton Passive House was awarded a Silver medal for Best High Performance/Energy Efficient Home at the 2022 PRISM Awards, held annually to celebrate the best of the best in the local residential building industry. A record 370 PRISM entries were received this year with 12 judges from across the country choosing Gold and Silver crystal award winners who were announced at the gala.

Acton Passive House. This custom home was designed as a primary residence for a client who desired high performance as well as a respite from urban life. His vision was a home nestled in the woods and right-sized for his lifestyle, nothing more, nothing less. The result is a sleek house with a simple shed roof, designed to the PHIUS+ 2018 performance standard, which offers energy efficiency and exceptional comfort. In order to help ensure low operational cost, the roof is outfitted with a solar (PV) array and has also achieved Source Zero Certification.

The Builders and Remodelers Association of Greater Boston (BRAGB) is one of the leading trade associations in New England since its inception in 1944. The PRISM Awards Gala is the BRAGB’s flagship event of the year and winning an award is considered a sign of excellence and superior achievement. Each entry submitted in the PRISM awards competition is judged on its own merit by a national panel of distinguished industry professionals.

ZED's Stephanie Horowitz Brings Net-Zero Expertise to a Somerville Victorian

Energy Retrofits in Historic Homes. Stephanie Horowitz was enlisted by Boston Globe staff to tour a historic Somerville home and share her thoughts about how to improve its energy efficiency towards net-zero performance. Stephanie joined air-sealing specialist Jason Taylor of Byggmeister Associates and contractor Mark Philben of Charlie Allen Renovations on the tour. The group provided recommendations on the attic and basement insulation, use of a blower door test for checking air leaks, proper interior and exterior wall insulation, custom-built storm windows, and more. The piece provides convenient cost information for each topic, giving the reader a sense of what a retrofit to an old home might set them back. The question remains - if net-zero is your goal, is retrofitting an old home the most reasonable path?

MORE: BOSTON SUNDAY GLOBE STORY

ZED WINS GOLD AND SILVER IN 2021 PRISM AWARDS

ZeroEnergy Design took home two medals at the 2021 PRISM Awards, held annually to celebrate the best of the best in the local residential building industry. A record 331 PRISM entries were received this year with 12 judges from across the country choosing Gold and Silver crystal award winners who were announced at the gala.

ZED’s Hingham Marshfront home won a Gold PRISM Award for Best Single Family Home: 3,000 to 4,500 SF. This green home was designed for a Hingham-based couple who commuted to Boston for work and desired a modern residence on their marshfront property that fit with their green lifestyle. Outdoor connections include a gracious 1,000 SF deck with al fresco living areas overlooking the vegetated salt marsh, a vegetable garden and an outdoor shower. Green features include a super insulated enclosure, triple-glazed windows, efficient cold climate heat pumps for heating and cooling, plus a rooftop solar electric system to offset energy consumption. These features not only reflect the owners’ efforts to be ecologically responsible, but also their desire for year-round resilience, protection from the elements, and optimal thermal comfort.

ZED’s Mt. Hope Modern home won a Silver PRISM Award for Best High Performance/Energy Efficient Home. This seaside Portsmouth, Rhode Island home home features warm stylish interiors, incorporates coastal resilience, and achieves near net zero performance, all while capturing commanding ocean views. While the design of the home gives it the appearance of being light on its feet, it is truly heavy on both energy performance and durability. The all-electric, super-insulated home’s consumption is offset with clean energy production from a 20kW solar electric system - and in terms of performance, the home has an amazing 2.8kBtu/sf/yr actual EUI, which is effectively 95% better than a typical code build house in New England.

The Builders and Remodelers Association of Greater Boston (BRAGB) is one of the leading trade associations in New England since its inception in 1944. The PRISM Awards Gala is the BRAGB’s flagship event of the year and winning an award is considered a sign of excellence and superior achievement. Each entry submitted in the PRISM awards competition is judged on its own merit by a national panel of distinguished industry professionals.

MORE: Awards Presentation

LEXINGTON MODERN RESIDENCE FEATURED IN INHABITAT

Green focused website, Inhabitat, recently published a story on ZeroEnergy Design’s Lexington Modern Residence, describing it as “a stunning example of how creating a sustainable home doesn’t mean sacrificing luxury.”

The 4,400 sq. ft. contemporary home designed by ZED reflects the firm’s signature modern aesthetics and uses only 19% of the energy of a code-built home. It boasts of several sustainable features, including a high-performance building envelope, high-efficiency mechanical systems, and a 10kW rooftop solar electric system for generating clean energy.

The Lexington Modern Residence was also featured in Houzz Tours in the last month.

MORE: LEXINGTON MODERN HOME IN INHABITAT

ZED's Lexington Modern Residence in Houzz Tours

We are thrilled to have the Lexington Modern Residence designed by ZED featured in Houzz Tours this month. Similar to other ZED homes, the Lexington Modern is highly energy efficient and uses only 19% of the energy compared to a code-built house of the same size. The home’s rectilinear forms, large windows, and thoughtful connection to the surrounding landscape draw inspiration from mid-century modern architecture while the shiplapped wood cladding is a nod to the traditional design style of the area.

In the interview with Houzz, ZED’s Stephanie Horowitz describes the design decisions that went into creating this beautiful home, including the careful siting that creates privacy while also ensures strong connections with the outdoors, the stepped-down living room with high ceilings, and the Passive House-certified skylight that offers significant natural light in the basement. Read the detailed interview in the full article linked below.

MORE: LEXINGTON MODERN - HOUZZ TOUR

ZED's Net Positive Farmhouse featured in Houzz Earth Day Tour

Popular online architecture and interior design website, Houzz’s tour of seven low-carbon, energy-efficient homes in celebration of Earth Day 2019 features ZeroEnergy Design’s Net Positive Farmhouse in Lincoln, Massachusetts.

With plenty of functional and flexible family-friendly spaces to live, work, play and entertain, a guest suite on the first floor for comfortable aging-in-place, planned rainwater catchment, high-efficiency appliances, root cellar, and edible plantings, this modern home proves that families do not have to compromise on style, space or comfort to live in a healthy, energy-efficient home.

A super-tight building envelope and a well-designed mechanical system ensure that this all-electric home uses 70% less energy than comparable code-built homes, while photovoltaic panels on the roof produce more energy than needed, making it net positive.

ZED and Thoughtforms Corporation designed and built this home in collaboration. The LEED Platinum project won a Sustainable Design Award from the Boston Society of Architects at the 8th annual BSA Design Awards Gala in January 2019. It previously won a Gold PRISM award for Best Net Zero/Passive House and Best Energy-Smart Home from Fine Homebuilding magazine.

MORE: HOUZZ TOUR OF 7 ENERGY-EFFICIENT HOMES

ZED is a Proud Sponsor of 2019 BuildingEnergy Boston Conference

ZeroEnergy Design is honored to be a sponsor of the 2019 BuildingEnergy Boston Conference + Trade Show of the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA). As the region’s premier event for professionals in the fields of high-performance building, renewable energy, and energy efficiency, the BuildingEnergy Boston conference brings together more than 1,500 attendees from dozens of professions and industries to share ideas and learn from each other. The interdisciplinary content and audience sets the BuildingEnergy Boston conference apart from other green building conferences and encourages broader discussions and a whole-systems approach to the challenges facing the built environment.

EVENT: BuildingEnergy Boston Conference + Trade Show

LOCATION: The Westin Boston Waterfront,
425 Summer St, Boston, MA 02210

DATES: March 14-15, 2019

The theme for 2019 BuildingEnergy Boston is Know-How. The session line-up will focus on practical skills and immediately applicable knowledge, including ongoing innovations, recent lessons learned, and important skills. The trade show floor will showcase the products and services of over 100 industry leaders and offer attendees the chance to observe cutting-edge technology and grow their client base.

Founded in 1974, the NESEA is a member-driven 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the adoption of sustainable energy practices in the built environment. ZED is a longtime NESEA Business Member and a BuildingEnergy Bottom Lines Member.

MORE: BUILDINGENERGY BOSTON | EVENT REGISTRATION

Don't assume new buildings are energy efficient!

WGBH investigative reporter interviews Stephanie Horowitz of ZeroEnergy Design and others about energy efficiency, energy code as tool for improvement, and recently constructed Boston buildings.

MORE: ARTICLE & RADIO INTERVIEW

Fine Homebuilding Podcast

Great podcast by Fine Homebuilding Magazine!
Thanks for the shout out from Brian Pontolilo for your #FavoriteWholeHouse!

Listen at 39:26 in the #podcast:  LISTEN

Brian discusses his 'Better Than Average' #FineHomebuilding ARTICLE

About the ZED #architecture project: MARGATE RESILIENT RESIDENCE

#transitionaldesign #modernarchitecture #healthyhome #energyefficiency #daylighting

Sustainability + Preservation Presentation

TITLE  | Sustainability + Preservation

DATE  | Tuesday April 3 at 6:30PM

SUMMARY  | Can you make your home more energy efficient while still respecting its historic character? Yes!     Panelists Stephanie Horowitz (ZeroEnergy Design), Paul Eldrenkamp (Byggmeister), and Nick Falkoff (Auburndale Builders) discuss how to blend comfort, carbon footprint, and preservation.   Suggested donation, $5 per person.

PRESENTED BY  | Historic Newton - Energy Efficiency for Old Homes

LOCATION  | The Durant-Kenrick House and Grounds, 286 Waverley Avenue, Newton, MA.

ATTEND  | REGISTER

Homeowners Attend Newton Net Zero Tour

The Newton Net Zero tour was a strong success!  50+ attendees joined ZeroEnergy Design (the architect) and Auburndale Builders (the contractor) for a presentation and tour of the property while under construction. Both firms are grateful for the promotional cooperation of Green Newton and Historic Newton, helping to share the opportunity and enable homeowners to view a new house with exceptional energy performance, healthy indoor air quality, and resilient design.

Stephanie Horowitz AIA, Managing Director of ZeroEnergy Design, discusses the design process essential to achieving a net zero energy home.

Matthew Genaze, Project Manager & Designer at ZeroEnergy Design, discusses how to achieve an airtight enclosure.

Nick Falkoff, General Manager of Auburndale Builders, explains how his staff implemented the exterior rigid insulation, and when soon combined with cavity insulation, will achieve super-insulation for the home.

Ryan McCarthy, Project Manager at Auburndale Builders, describes the wall assembly using a mock-up.

A thermal image shows the warm attendees on the cold and stormy day.

2016 Passive House Symposium Success!

2016 Passive House Symposium was a resounding success! Speakers, vendors, and attendees all gathered at District Hall in Boston for a full day of amazing content and knowledge sharing.   Panels covered a variety of topics, including the legislative process, selling Passive homes, wall sections, and multifamily buildings.

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Below from left to right:  Panelists  Senator William Brownsberger, Emily Norton, Masschusetts Chapter Director of the Sierra Club, and Eugenia Gibbons, Clean Energy Program Director of the Mass Energy Consumers Alliance.

Below:  Panel moderator Stephanie Horowitz, member of Passive House Massachusetts Board of Directors, and Managing Director of ZeroEnergy Design.

Below: Keynote speaker Ken Levinson, President of New York Passive House.

MORE: SYMPOSIUM BROCHURE

Interview with JORDAN GOLDMAN

Latest issue of Fine Homebuilding includes a great interview with ZED's Jordan Goldman about HVAC design and energy efficiency!

READ: ARTICLE