Project Spotlight: ZeroEnergy Design’s Brookline Deep-Energy Retrofit - High Performance in a Walkable Neighborhood

Rate It Green Member ZeroEnergy Design’s helped a Brookline, Massachusetts family reimagine their aging house and transform it into a health, energy efficient home that fits completely in this walkable neighborhood. 

The greenest building is of course the one that is already built, and where some might replace an older home, ZeroEnergy Design’s team improved the existing structure where it is now comfortable, lower energy consuming, energy efficient, and resilient. Features include:

• Natural light
• Open, flexible living spaces
• High-performing building enclosure
• Continuous exterior rigid insulation and cellulose insulation
• Continuous air barrier
• All-electric mechanical systems, including an air source heat pump and a heat pump hot water heater, and humidity management
• Air-source heat pumps, heat-pump water heater, energy recovery ventilation
• Triple-pane windows
• Rooftop solar
• Battery storage
• Electric car charging

The project achieved an airtightness result of 0.7 ACH50, approaching the traditional Passive House standard of 0.6 ACH50. ACH50 measures how much air leaks through a building's enclosure during a blower-door test, which artificially pressurizes or depressurizes the house. Lower numbers mean less air and energy leakage, and therefore lower energy bills. 

ZeroEnergy designed worked with Thoughtforms as a Construction partner and Interior Designer Julie Yen Design on this project. Photography is by Nat Rea Photography. 

For more information, view ZeroEnergy Design’s detailed project summary.