UPDATE: 3 Baywood has achieved gold level certification under the USGBC's LEED-for-Homes Program. Additionally 3 Baywood has achieved near net zero energy building performance in the first 7 months of occupancy. This home has produced more electricity to date than has been consumed to date (includes construction). This home has achieved Gold Certification under the NAHB's Green Building Certification program. This is the first home in Massachusetts to achieve this highest level of certification. Check out NAHB's Flickr page for this project.

This new house is built using modern green building standards.  The project's goals include LEED- Gold certification, NAHB Green Building - Certified Gold, and Energy Star Certified. Few homes on Cape Cod have been certified under these programs; in fact, this is the first LEED-certified home in Orleans, MA under the USGBC's LEED for Homes program!

Final Pictures available for download (professional photography by Roe Osborn)

click on the thumbnails to be taken to a slideshow of interior and exterior photos

The heating and cooling systems include the following high-efficiency equipment:

• Boiler by Buderus - high efficiency with an AFUE efficiency rating of 94.8%
  
• Air conditioning by Lennox - Energy Star Certified and a SEER rating of 20.5
• The Buderus hot water tank includes two coils, the primary means to heat the domestic water is via the loop heated by the rooftop solar panels.

Kitchen cabinets furnished by Kitchenport were manufactured by Candlelight Cabinetry. These cabinets are certified green under the KMCA's Environmental Stewardship Program (ESP) and feature low-formaldehyde plywood.

The electrical system includes Energy Star lighting fixtures and bath fans, low consumption lighting including LED fixtures.

All interior paints used are Benjamin Moore low-VOC paints.

Counter tops include EnviroGlas recycled glass counter tops for bath vanities.

Flooring includes cork and bamboo green flooring products.

• Buderus solar panels provide primary domestic hot water supply. Two panels located on the front, south facing gable dormer roof supply 50-75% of the forecast demand for domestic hot water installed by our partner South Shore Heating and Cooling

• Solar electric (photovoltaic) panels on the roof, installed by our partner, Clean Energy Design. 24 208-watt panels are the production component of this 5 kW system. The brains of the system is a Solectria inverter, locally manufactured in Massachusetts. This system is expected to produce more than 75% of the home's annual electricity demand through a net-metering setup with the utility!

  • Update: solar panels are in service. We have produced over 4,500 KW-hrs of electricity as of October 2009. This has more than offset all of the electricity used during construction and in the house to date!

• A significant portion of the cost of these systems will be off-set by State and Federal tax credits and rebates. Visit www.dsireusa.org for more information on available programs.

Cape Cod Insulation provided an air-sealing and insulation package that includes Demilec's
Agribalance Spray Foam insulation for the exterior walls and roof. The expansive, air-sealing nature of the spray foam helps create a draft-free exterior. The spray-foam filled the entire 5-1/2" stud cavity. Additionally, 3/4" of foil-faced high-R rigid insulation board was used over the inside face of the exterior wall studs for additional insulation value and as a thermal break.

Andersen windows provided by our partner Mid Cape Home Center with low-E4 glass are great, energy saving windows.
Rogue Valley Doors, KOMA cPVC trim and "locally" produced SBC pre-stained white cedar shingles, provided by our partner Specialty Builder's Supply, provide the balance of the exterior skin of this home. 

When planning-out which of the different green building categories to score points, framing (exterior and interior walls) in FSC-certified lumber was both cost-effective and a decision that "felt right".  Our partner, Shepley Wood Products was able to deliver FSC product at a very small premium to traditionally harvested framing lumber.
Efficient framing methods were employed for additional points.  Window and door headers have been insulated to eliminate a common point for thermal bridging.  Though not currently recognized by the USGBC, the floor framing utilized SFI-certified engineered lumber.

2-inch rigid insulation wrapping the full height (8') of the foundation provides insulation and a thermal break on the outside of the concrete, harnessing the thermal mass of the concrete as additional insulation.