Fine Homebuilding Magazine: FHB House

Fine Homebuilding November 2018 Issue: On the Way to Net Zero

By Mela Breen & David Good

FHB House is energy-smart, connected, healthy and durable. It’s small and sensible. Most of all, it’s the industry’s most powerful home for educating designers and builders who aspire to create high-performance houses that are exceptional in their quality, comfort and style. The November 2018 issue recounts the efficiency measures and building-envelope details that will determine the size of the PV array needed to reach net-zero energy performance.

“During the design phase, we consider which window manufacturer makes sense for the performance of the house, the budget, and the aesthetic goals. We have installed Zola European Windows on several of our previous high-performance and Passive House projects and have found their price point to be better comparable Passive House–certified windows. With a manufacturer like Zola, we are able to optimize the glass-to-frame ratio and design for large glazing units. The triple-pane glass is not only less expensive than the frame, its performance is also much higher. So in our house there are a relatively low number of window units, but they have a large amount of glazing. The windows are tuned to allow for solar heat gain where needed, and we paired substantial fixed units with the operable tilt-turn units to get the most out of the overall window performance.

We chose Zola Europe European Windows and settled on their Thermo Clad line, as the glass package is well-suited for our climate and offers four seals on the doors and operable windows for a very effective air-seal. The factory-finished interior is not only a higher quality than we can get with site finishing, but is less than the cost of having a painter finish raw wood.”

Mela Breen and David Good are the founders of Atmosphere Design Build, a design/construction firm in Northern California.

Click on the cover below to read the entire feature in the November 2018 issue of Fine Homebuilding Magazine.

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