[Greenbuilding] energy efficient square house

Haudy Kazemi kaze0010 at umn.edu
Thu Jan 26 17:34:52 CST 2012


Hello,

I'm wondering if any of you recall seeing a website/blog with photos 
about the construction of a new energy efficient square house (square or 
nearly square floorplan).  I can't seem to find it right now...what I do 
remember about it doesn't seem enough to find it in the first couple 
pages of Google or Bing results.  I believe I saw it within the last 1 year.

I think it had the following characteristics (more sure about the first 
items in the list, confidence decreases further down list):
1.) definitely had square or nearly floor plan, chosen because it 
maximizes interior space compared to exterior wall area, and because 
less complex designs also cost less.  A four corner design simplified 
construction and saved money for other features.  Less exterior wall 
area also means lower energy losses.
2.) 1.5 story with a simple roofline, with a plain gable roof with ~ 
10/12 slope.  I don't think it had dormers.
3.) SIPs or standard framing...in either case the design was intended to 
use full sheets/full pieces with minimum cutting needed.  Many 
dimensions in multiples of 2' or 4'.
4.) total square footage: ~1200-1600 (?), [e.g. say a 32x32 main floor 
(1024 sf) + 12x32 second floor (384 sf) under the gable]
5.) wooded lot
6.) radiant heating (?)

Thanks for any clues or pointers you might have on finding this house.

-hk




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