What makes your home a Green or Healthy Home?
: Major elements of this home design include: 1) major reliance upon renewable energy sources: wood, sun and wind; (2) thermal efficiency, (3) open, naturally lighted, well-ventilated living spaces, (4) the use of non-toxic , natural materials throughout the home.
The shell of the house is constructed of recycled steel-framed polystyrene panels with 10” walls and 12” roof. This provides thermal and sound insulation of major interior areas. The core area comprises vital activity spaces. The gallery over the firestove serves as a plenum for storage of heated air which moves convectively into the upper level, making the loft area warm and comfortable throughout the year without any external heat source.
The wood stove is a Tempcast Ceramic firestove which has a lockable glazed door and an outside air source. Six inches of local stone masonry absorb and radiate heat to the entire great room and peripheral living spaces. In cold weather we usually do two burns a day, each with 5 pieces of wood. In an average year we use between 2 and 2.5 cords of wood.
A rooftop solar water heater (Firebolt) preheats 48 degree groundwater with a high efficiency (Munchkin) propane boiler used as backup.
The house has 10 Unisolar, thin-film amorphous PV panels on the standing seam steel garage roof. These can generate up to 1.3kW. There are six rack mounted PV panels (Sharp) which are tilted due south and generate up to 1.3kW. On a ridge above the house, there are two Berkey wind turbines on 104’ towers which generate 2.3kW. Even though we are grid tied, we also have a 10 battery bank to provide uninterrupted power during grid outages.
Ventilation for a tight home is critical and thus this house has a Renewaire heat recovery ventilator which draws stale warm air from the house, replacing it with warmed outside air.
All materials used in the building of the home were vetted by a former EPA chemist to assure that no toxic chemicals or substances were used anywhere in the house. The floors are wood in all of the living areas, including the bedrooms and ceramic tile is used in the kitchen, bathrooms and entry room. The balusters on the staircase are cherry from the property and the upstairs floors are solid cherry as well. The stone on the firestove is locally sourced.Property Description
This home was designed by its present owner who has been devoted to building energy efficient homes for almost forty years. In planning the home the first step was to make the home as tight as possible: eliminating air leaks and conductive heat loss. Locally renewable energy sources such as sun, wind, and wood assure an inexpensive, uninterrupted energy supply.
The first floor of this home contains three bedrooms, two full baths, and a great room which includes the kitchen, a dining area and living room. The space is divided by the Russian type firestove which is in the geometrical center of the area. Also on the first floor is the laundry, the entry/mud room, a utility room/woodshop, a sunroom and the garage. The utility room, sunroom and garage are unheated but never go below freezing. A large loft looks down on the great room and off that area are three more rooms which the present owners use for bedrooms . These ares can be heated or unheated.
All of the appliances are energy star and include washer, dryer, gas range, microwave oven, refrigerator and dishwasher. The entire house is wired with television outlets and phone jacks. The home is south facing and the great room has two tiers of windows on the south side, flooding the area with light and passive heat in the winter. Radiant floor heat powered by a propane boiler supplements the wood firestove. All downstairs rooms and the loft area have ceiling fans.
The home is located on 28+/- acres and the property is in Vermont’s current use program, which allows it to get a slightly lower tax rate. There are three outbuildings on the property: a tool shed and two woodsheds. There is also a covered winter entrance to the house which holds about two cords of wood which is more than a full year’s supply.
Three sides of the property are bordered by National forest . In the winter, the upper slopes of the Bromley ski area are visible from the house.
The property is beautifully landscaped with perennial gardens. There are fruit and nut trees on the property and a raised garden area which is 100% organic.Neighborhood Description
This house is situated on a town road 1.5 miles from the center of the village of Peru. There are three houses on the road, none of which are visible from this house. The Village of Peru was founded in 1761 and is a quintessentially New England village with a church, a general store, a town hall, a building and half a dozen houses. The general store is reputed to be the oldest in Vermont and has just changed ownership and rebuilt and serves wonderful organic, locally sourced food.Market Area
The Bromley Ski Area, one of the oldest ski areas in Vermont, is located in Peru. and is known as a family friendly ski area. It is a three season resort, offering many challenging outdoor activities. Stratton Mountain Ski Area is only 20 minutes away. The town of Manchester is a 15 minute drive and offers world class shopping, cultural activities and restaurants. Peru is 2.5 hours from Boston, 5 hours from New York City.School District
The local elementary school is Flood Brook which is very highly regarded and has a low student/teacher ratio. It is a K-8 school. For high school, most students attend one of the best high schools in the state: Burr and Burton Academy. The school’s main campus is located in Manchester but it has a mountain campus in Peru. All students are encouraged to spend one semester in this LEED certified campus. where environmental studies and land stewardship are stressed.Community
People live in the Green Mountains of Vermont because they are passionate about the outdoors and are often seeking a simpler life style. Recreational opportunities abound throughout the year. The Appalachian Trail intersects the area in several places and the Catamount Trail, a cross country trail which runs from Massachusetts to Canada, is accessible easily from the property. Peru has a population of about 400 people but has many second home owners as well.Location of Home or Land
Rural
Elevation of Home
Mountain
Air Quality
| Agriculture in Area | yes |
| Industry in Area | no |
| Air Pollution in Area | no |
| Pesticide Free | yes |
| Fragrance Free | yes |
| Cleaned with Green Products | yes |
Interior Environment
| Heating System | Hydronic Floor Heat (radiant) |
| Cooling System | Other |
| Ventilation System | Heat Exchanger |
| Whole House Filtration | HEPA filtration |
| Whole House Vacuum | no |
Energy & Water
| Water System | Well |
| Wastewater System | Septic System |
Construction Information
| Exterior Finish | Shingles - Other |
| Interior Finish | Gypsum Board - Sheet Rock |
| Interior Paint | Low VOC |
| Floor Material | Wood - Solid |
| Roof Material | Metal |
| Window Material | Vinyl or Vinyl Clad |
| Insulation Material | Other |
Garage / Car Port
| Garage / Carport | yes |
| Garage Type | attached |
| Number of Cars | 2 |
| Garage Area | 1000 sqft |
