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Featured Custom Home Design |
Rural Nostalgia - Framingham, Massachusetts
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Home
- 3,160 Square Feet
- First Floor Master Suite
- 3 Bedrooms
- 3 Full Baths
- Open Great Room and Kitchen
- Lofted Den with Skylights
- Home Office/Study
- Walk-in Closets
- Walk-in Pantry
- Mudroom with Laundry
- Fireplace
- Porch With Pergola
- Attached Single Car Garage
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Energy
- Solar Thermal System
- High Efficiency Windows
- Light Tubes for Daylighting
- Advanced Framing
- Icynene Foam Insulation
- On-Demand Hot Water
- Energy Star Appliances and Lighting
- Heat Recovery Ventilator
Health
- Low to No VOC Materials
- Air Exchange System |
When a family has been in one location for generations, members can become nostalgic for a time remembered from their childhood. For our client that time was back when the area was more rural, and agriculture still had a place in local society. When the time came to build a new house, they decided to express that in their style of residence, with a red barn inspired home on land carved from a larger family parcel.
The new residence calls back to the agricultural roots of the area, with the performance and modern living features to today. Restricted by a tight budget but planning for the long term, the client decided to spend on design that would be customized just for them, as well as result in a home with greatly reduced operating costs.
The home features a great room that includes the kitchen, living area, office, plus can be extended by opening a set of french doors to the deck. Rustic pine plank flooring offers both charm on the interior while decreasing the amount of plywood needed within the house, acting both as the substrate and the finished floor.
The first floor master bedroom was designed as part of a plan for long term occupancy by the owners. It includes direct access to a full bath, a walk in closet and changing room, the main living areas, the garage, the front door, and the laundry, all without any stairs.
Skylights in the den upstairs are operable and can be used to provide passive exhaust of the warmest air in the summertime, while a light tube helps illuminate the second story bathroom on a daily basis using daylighting.
Operating costs are reduced with a combination of low maintenance exterior materials, advanced framing techniques, expanding foam insulation, and high performance mechanical systems. Utility costs are expected to be 30% less than a comparable home built to required code standards.
The clients will build the home mostly with free labor from a local technical school in the community, an award the school makes to one family each year as part of its hands-on curriculum. The end result is a house that is built with community participation, costs less to operate, has healthy indoor air quality, is designed for its owners' later years, and is a responsible investment for the next generation to come.
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| NAHB Green Building Standard Officially Launched |
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Evolving over the past 3 years, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has finally officially launched their National Green Building Program. The prelaunch release has been in place since 2005, and the new version should be available shortly, with plans to become recognized by the American Nation Standards Institute (ANSI).
IEH has staff in line for training courses to become Accredited National Green Building Program Verifiers.
More about the NAHB Green Building Standard
Massachusetts has been developing a version of the standards for use locally called Build Green Massachusetts. Boston Association of Greater Boston (BAGB) has taken the lead on this initiative in the state.
IEH is both a member of BAGB and BAGB's Sustainable Building Committee.
Contact IEH to design your new green home.
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| Fossil Fuel Free |
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With all the focus in the media on rising price of oil, isn't it nice to know that your next home can be independent of fossil fuel?
There are practical alternatives that allow you to be fossil fuel free! IEH offers Custom Design of high performance zero energy homes that use no fossil fuels, meaning no natural gas, no propane, no oil, and zero net electricity. For some, it may be important simply to have zero fossil fuels burned on-premises.
Each IEH home features ultra high performance through reduced energy requirements for heating, cooling, hot water, appliances, and lighting. They utilize heat pumps for increased heating and cooling efficiency often together with grid-tied solar electric systems.
IEH-designed homes consume a fraction of the energy that a typical house built to code uses, draw what they do need from the grid, and often use renewable energy systems to produce as much energy as they use on an annual basis.
The choice to go fossil fuel free requires an initial investment beyond typical construction, but the impact can be felt for generations to come and the total cost of ownership (utilities plus mortgage) is often the same.
Hire IEH to design a Fossil Fuel Free home for you.
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| Mudrooms for Green Homes? |
 A room used exclusively for taking off shoes and throwing down belongings is great during inclement weather or for a home with kids, but a mudroom is more than just practical. Mudrooms have also proven to be part of a healthy, green home. What is it about this entry room that makes our homes healthier and more efficient?
Buffer Zone
Mudrooms create a buffer zone that helps improve indoor air quality and energy efficiency. Every time we step through our front door we are carrying, dust, pollen, mold and other contaminants into our home. Building a barrier between the outside world and our living space can stop these pollutants in their tracks.
Mudrooms also increase the efficiency of our homes because they serve as a transition space. A transition space acts a lot like a storm door or wall insulation. It protects the interior from exterior elements. Less indoor air is able to escape and outdoor air to enter increasing the efficiency of our heating and cooling systems.
The Model Mudroom
In order for a mudroom to improve indoor air quality and energy efficiency certain elements are a must. An area rug at the mudroom's entrance is good for removing immediate dust and dirt from shoes and can easily be removed for cleaning. The remaining flooring should be stone, concrete or some other material that can easily be cleaned and does not collect dirt and dust.
A good mudroom should also be large enough to create an ample barrier between exterior elements and the home's interior. Airtight doors at both the  exterior and interior of the house will help to reduce energy loss as well.
Not only are mudrooms a practical addition to your home, but they save valuable energy and maintain your home's indoor air quality. When planning to build your next home or renovate your current one, consider the benefits of a mudroom. |
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Home Design Referral Program |
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Do you know someone who just bought land? Someone about to build?
Your simple referral can translate into:
- A new Energy Star appliance
- 10 years of carbon footprint off-sets
- A hybrid car rental for a month
- And more choices....
Do someone a favor! Do the environment a favor! Let them know about us!
To learn more, download our Program and Rewards PDF.
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| Massachusetts Governor looks to Net-Zero |
At the recent Building Energy 08 conference held in Boston's World Trade Center, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick made an announcement:
"Buildings that reduce their energy use by 40% are great, but that is simply not enough.... We need to set our sights lower, in fact, all the way to zero."
He descibed a task force set up to attack the challenge for commercial buildings, which would report back with recommendations to achieve net zero energy performance at the next Building Energy conference in a year.
There was no mention of such a challenge for the residential market, however IEH is aware of a program currently being developed by other local non-governmental organizations to achieve the same goal and is excited to participate over the coming year. More news to follow as this story develops. |
| Mortgages for Energy Efficient Homes |
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If you are looking for a mortgage for your new construction, myEnergyLoan offers some significant advantages for financing homes with high energy performance. They offer 50% off loan origination fees, work with a traditional Energy Efficient Mortgage or without, provide a free analysis of your home's performance, and guarantee low interest rates.
If you are going to design and build an energy efficient home in the future, they are a resource worth considering.
More information www.myEnergyLoan.com | |
