This home features both Passive Solar and Active Solar. The large glass percentage on the south side of the home allows for plenty of natural light reducing the need for artificial lighting during the day. The roof overhangs on the front of the home are carefully calculated to shelter the home during the summer months so that it doesn’t overheat. During the winter months, the sun’s angle is lower in the sky, allowing the sunlight to pour in.

The living room and dining room floor are poured concrete and stained a dark color to absorb the rays of the sun. The floor retains that heat, known as thermal mass storage. The polished concrete floor stores that heat and then gives up the heat during the night to help heat the home. In the summer, the concrete floor helps to draw heat from the home to help keep it cool. The homeowners stated that the home remains very comfortable on those hot summer days, even without A/C.

This home has many key features:

• Reclaimed hardwood flooring from a tobacco barn in Hatfield, Mass.
• Reclaimed hemlock beams for key design elements in the dining room ceiling
• Cellulose insulation in the walls and attic area
• Energy Star rated shingles
• Maintenance free fiber cement board siding
• Insulated foundation walls
• Zero-VOC paints
• 100% P.E.T carpet (recycled plastic bottles)
• High- Efficiency propane water heater and furnace
• Energy-Star appliances
• Solar Thermal System used to preheat hot water and radiant floor heating