Harmony House Opus II

Location

Freeport, Maine

Overview

LEED Standing

Gold

Project Team

• Original Spec-House Architect: TFH Architects
• Builder: Symphony Construction
• Architect: Green Design Studio

This house is the first in New England to receive a Gold in the LEED-Homes™ pilot program.   It is a four bedroom 2550 square foot home designed as a spec house that would offer its new owners a healthier, more energy efficient, and more environmentally-friendly home than is currently offered in the housing market today. It sold long before it was completed and its owners have just recently moved in.  This design was based off of the original three bedroom ‘Harmony House’ Design.

This home features a passive solar design that takes advantage of a solarium that acts as a heat generator in the winter and a shading device in the summer.   It also incorporates many environmentally friendly products such as bamboo flooring, countertops made from recycled paper, local white cedar shingles, dual flush toilets, and low VOC (volatile organic compounds) emitting paints, sealants and products. The home’s exterior envelope is comprised of insulated concrete forms in the basement, and strapped balloon-framed walls utilizing efficient framing techniques.  The stud and rafter cavities are filled with dense packed-cellulose insulation (made from recycled newsprint.)   This packed-in insulation along with careful sealing of the exterior envelope (even the outlets have gaskets) created a very tight and energy efficient house. It boasts an Energy Star HERS score of 92.8 and a Natural ACH (air changes per hour) rate of 0.07.   With such a tight house, an HRV (Heat Recovery Ventilator) was installed to provide fresh air. This house features a ground source heat pump (also known as a geothermal heat pump) that efficiently warms the radiant slabs.   While this mild winter has not yet put it to the test, it is anticipated that it will perform equivalent (cost per BTU) to oil fired boiler burning oil at 60 cents/gal. The system also allows the house to be combustion free so that it can be easily adapted to a photovoltaic system in the future. All in all, the house should save its owners an estimated 50% on its utility bills compared to an average house of similar size.