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Energy Efficient: Vermont Five-Star Home

Tips for the government's highest energy rating

by Polly Bannister

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This brand-new house in Vermont has everything -- a spacious kitchen with soapstone counters, a great room with mountain views, an attached three-story barn, and a basement gym.

Frieda Wimmelman and her husband, Alan Binnick, have built a dream house, but much of what makes this home stand out is actually hidden from the eye.

Materials like foam insulation and argon gas in the windows, ductwork placement, and a balanced ventilation system are "invisible" unique features. And they're the ones that helped win this house a five-star rating from the federal government's Energy Star program, which identifies energy-efficient products and systems for new and existing structures.

The home, a contemporary farmhouse design, fits the landscape. Dormers and varying rooflines resonate with the hills that surround the property. Atop the barn, a red cupola faces Haystack Mountain. In the dining room, large windows look out on Frieda's favorite view-- Mount Snow. In winter, she trains their telescope on the ski trails there. She is so delighted with the view that she and a friend once prearranged a time when he would wave his ski poles from the mountain so she could spot him through the scope.

Frieda's connection to this land runs deep. She and Alan built on the site of the farmhouse where she and her brother were raised. "It was a hard decision to take down the old house," says Frieda, "but we lived with drafts, poor insulation, and constant upkeep, and I felt I could never leave in the winter for fear the whole place would seize up." Ironically, Frieda is so happy with her new hilltop haven, she seldom leaves the property. In summer, she tends a huge garden with hardy varieties of celery, eggplant, asparagus, tomatoes, and dozens of other vegetables. She saved extensive flowerbeds from the original house during excavation. In winter, she and Alan snowshoe and cross-country ski on trails that lace their property.

Before they built, Frieda says, she had a bad case of house envy. She clipped a photo of a beautiful home from a local real estate ad and tracked down the contractor. She and builder Art Carlucci worked with architect Dave Shaughnessy to design a building that uses state-of-the-art energy technology and captures the soul of her childhood home. They salvaged old beams, wide pine floorboards, cabinetry, and graceful wrought-iron balusters, adding to the "settled-in" feeling of this new home.

The process of going for an energy rating started with Art's submitting the blueprints to Vermont Energy Star Homes, which made recommendations (at no charge) for windows, the heating system, insulation, and lighting. The house has Marvin windows with an aluminum-clad exterior and wood on the interior, a wood-fired boiler with a hot-water storage system made by HS Tarm, many fluorescent fixtures, and Energy Star-rated appliances. Throughout construction, a certified home-energy rater evaluated (at a $300 charge) everything from duct leakage and R-factors of ceilings, walls, and floors to the efficiency of lights and appliances and air infiltration from the outside (requiring a blower door test). The home-energy rating came in at 89.6; for five stars, a house must score 86 or above.

Having an energy-efficient house does more than help save the planet's resources. In addition to the money homeowners save on utilities, there are federal tax credits and state energy partner rebates available for participating in the program. Art received a $2,000 rebate, and Frieda, $1,025.

Frieda, like many Vermonters, is practical and independent. Frieda and Alan have just had a test tower for a wind turbine installed. "There's no reason not to build for energy efficiency," she says. "I saw this house as my only chance to do it right."

Turn Your House Into an Energy Star

1. Effective Insulation

[What you can do]

Reduce heat loss through the roof by making sure you have 10-14 inches of insulation (fiberglass, rigid foam, or cellulose) in your attic. Distribute insulation evenly so there are no low spots along the eaves and floor joists are covered.

[What our featured homeowners did]

Used a self-hardening, spray-in-place polyurethane foam insulation that offers the industry's highest insulating factor.

2. High-Performance Windows

[What you can do]

Windows are where most homes lose heat. Replace single-pane windows with double-pane glass, insulate weight pockets (where weights and pulleys are), weatherstrip the perimeter of the sash, and make sure all sash locks work.

[What our featured homeowners did]

Chose the Marvin Ultimate series: aluminum-clad exterior with wood interior, thermal-pane glass with low-E coating.

3. Lighting and Appliances

[What you can do]

Install compact fluorescent lightbulbs, which use 75 percent less energy than comparable incandescent bulbs. (They also generate less heat, so you can reduce air-conditioning costs.)

[What our featured homeowners did]

Used energy-efficient fixtures where appropriate inside the house and bought an Energy Star-rated clothes dryer, refrigerator, and dishwasher.

4. Tight Construction and Ducts

[What you can do]

Prevent outside air from leaking into your house. Seal drafts: Weatherstrip doors, caulk leaky windows, use electrical outlet protectors (like the ones for baby proofing), fill gaps around vent pipes with expanding spray foam insulation, insulate the gap between sill plate and foundation with caulk or foam.

[What our featured homeowners did]

Ensured their home's envelope was extremely tight, starting with a foundation of concrete block sandwiched between two foam layers, a system that produces an R-22 (most foundations rate only an R-10), and using foam insulation in the shell.

5. Efficient Heating and Cooling Equipment

[What you can do]

Repair poorly functioning furnaces, boilers, and water heaters. Clean air filters every three months and have your furnace serviced regularly; if your furnace is more than 20 years old, replace it. Use a programmable thermostat to save heat if you're away from the house during the day.

[What our featured homeowners did]

Installed high-efficiency equipment: a Buderus oil-fired burner, HS Tarm wood-burning boiler with insulated storage tank for hot water, and a masonry heater (see "Detail"). For cooling they use a whole-house fan.

6. Partner with Experts

[What you can do]

Use the Energy Star Yardstick program, which compares your home's efficiency with similar homes across the country and makes recommendations. All you need is your last 12 months of utility bills, the number of occupants in your home, square footage, the year the house was built, and ZIP code. Log on to energystar.gov, click on "Home Energy Yardstick," and submit your request.

[What our featured homeowners did]

Received third-party verification by working with a home-energy rater who conducted onsite testing and inspections to verify their house used energy-saving features and qualified for an Energy Star rating.