The Goldstein's
building a beautiful and efficient
home.
2004 GRAND Aurora Award Winner &
2003 APEX Winner
for Energy Efficiency!
Just because a home is energy efficient doesn't mean it will
be unattractive or comforts will have to be sacrificed. This
all brick, 5400 square foot home is located in Niceville. It
has two full stories and a full basement with 10' foot
ceilings throughout the home.
Overall View of the Home
There are solid wood flooring, custom
stair railings, custom shower, large tub, fireplace,
hurricane shelter, and a kitchen to make a professional chef
envious!
The Wall System
To achieve the highest
possible R value with absolute minimum infiltration, an ICF
(Insulated Concrete Form) wall system was used. The
equivalent wall insulation value is R50 with an infiltration
rate that is typically a third of that in standard
construction.
The Ceiling and Interior
Walls
Cellulous was chosen for the
interior walls to help noise proof the home. It was also
used in the attic because it has been tested and proven to
be
»Fire safe
»Reduce air-leakage
»Not as subject to convective heat loss
»Over 75% recycled material making it environmentally
friendly
The Home Comfort System
A
WaterFurnace E Series Four ton system was installed into
this home. At 5400 square foot of living space, the square
footage to tonnage is 1350 versus the typical 700-800 square
feet per ton. This system has a two stage
compressor and twelve speed variable blower. As with most
geothermal systems, no outside unit is necessary. Because of
the two stage compressor, with this particular model, the
equivalent SEER (Season Energy Efficiency Rating) would
range from 22 to 28 (based on 70 degree entering water
temperature and while producing free hot water).
Each floor has its own zone for a total of three zones.
The Final Product
The homeowner of this home is
expecting a total power bill of $120 including the 800
square foot heated/cooled workshop.
A word from the homeowner/builder
My goal in designing and
building this house was to combine the features of energy
efficiency, compatibility with the Florida environment, and
low maintenance. I chose to build the outside walls with
insulating concrete forms. This feature provides a basic
structure that is impervious to damage by hurricanes and
termites and at the same time provides a very large R factor
in the walls. The house will maintain its integrity
indefinitely (Rome was built of concrete). I chose to
install a heat pump with ground water heat exchange. This
type of heating and cooling unit makes a great deal of sense
to me as a physicist. The process of heat exchange with
water is much more efficient than the process of heat
exchange with air because of the greater thermal
conductivity of water, and, instead of trying to exchange
heat with air with constantly fluctuating temperature, heat
is exchanged with water at a constant temperature. The heat
exchanging part of the unit is protected from the elements
since it is underground, and the mechanical parts of the
unit are inside the house. I expect to have low maintenance
with this system because of this. For the attic insulation I
chose blown cellulose. After having fiberglass batting in my
current house and doing some research on blown fiberglass, I
chose to stay away from fiberglass entirely and use
cellulose. Cellulose has greater insulating properties per
inch, is fire and insect resistant, is not hazardous to
people, and is environmentally friendly. Other features of
the house are a brick exterior, a class A fire-rated roof
with metal shingles, fiberglass exterior doors, insulated
metal garage doors, and metal and vinyl trim. These features
should all contribute to the energy efficiency and low
maintenance in our Florida climate.
Dr. Dennis Goldstein
