What makes your home a Green or Healthy Home?
We searched for months in Philadelphia's New Jersey suburbs for land to build a solar house in the early 1980's. We finally found a virgin lot at the end of a cul-de-sac, with an idea southern exposure. All the architectural trimmings for a passive solar home were included in the construction.Property Description
Custom home designed by a noted architectural firm and built to conserve energy is for sale by the original owners. It features five bedrooms, living room, dining room, family room, kitchen, two full bathrooms, one half bathroom, full basement, two wooden decks, two-and-a-half stories, and a two-car garage at the end of a cul-de-sac in the Alluvium section of Voorhees, NJ. Children go to E.T. Hamilton Elementary School (a nationally recognized Blue-Ribbon school), Voorhees Middle School, and Eastern Regional High School.
Designed by the pioneer solar Philadelphia architectural firm Jacobs & Wyper in 1983, this passive solar house sits at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac, facing south. It was designed to take advantage of its southern exposure, as its stunning two-story sunroom foyer serves as a heat reservoir for the home. The front home is shaded by the leaves of oak trees in the summer but in the cold winter months, when the deciduous trees are bare, the glass allows sun’s warmth to radiate the home. The architects specified that the framing consist of two by six inch lumber so an extra two inches of insulation could be installed compared to most houses with their standard 2 x 4 frames. The roof rafters are deeper for the same reason. One-inch thick foam sheets were nailed into the plywood outer shell for added insulation. A combination of wood and vinyl siding finish the home’s exterior. Windows were architecturally designed to span the southern exposure. The house was designed so that stairways would border the cold north side of the house leaving little reason for windows on the sunless side. The oil furnace has five zones that pump hot water to the radiators. An electric radiator heats a mother-in-law bedroom above the two car garage while a gas fireplace rounds out the seventh zone in family room.
The living room features a Vermont Castings wood-burning stove which keeps the whole house warm during the late fall, winter, and early spring. It also creates a warm feeling throughout the house. Specially designed window quilts are lowered at night to keep the warm air inside (and the cold air out). The home is kept cool during summer nights by opening the windows and turning on a whole house fan which pull the cool evening breeze throughout the house. Hot days are cooled by two-zone central air conditioning as well as a separate unit in the mother-in-law room.
With quarter-acre pie-shaped lot at the end of cul-de-sac, the backyard features a fenced-in area ideal for pets and children. Lots of room to run! Plenty of trees in the back and neighboring yards give the feel of a forest oasis. Great backyard for bird watching, too – cardinals, goldfinch, blue jays, black-capped chickadees, woodpeckers, tufted titmouse, white breasted nuthatches, mourning doves, and robins call it home.
Neighborhood Description
This home is in the Alluvium section of Voorhees, NJ. It's a quiet neighborhood with each home built on 1/4 to 1 1/2 acres of wooded lots.Market Area
Philadelphia is less than 20 miles away. A high-speed line transportation system has a Voorhees station. It takes less than twenty minutes to get to downtown Philadelphia on an express train.School District
Voohees School District (Elementary & Middle School); Eastern Regional High School DistrictLocation of Home or Land
Suburban
Elevation of Home
Sea Level
Air Quality
| Agriculture in Area | no |
| Industry in Area | no |
| Air Pollution in Area | no |
| Pesticide Free | yes |
| Fragrance Free | yes |
| Cleaned with Green Products | yes |
Interior Environment
| Heating System | Solar - Passive |
| Cooling System | Conventional Forced Air - A/C |
| Ventilation System | Whole House Fan |
| Whole House Filtration | None |
| Whole House Vacuum | no |
Energy & Water
| Water System | Municipal |
| Wastewater System | Municipal |
Construction Information
| Exterior Finish | Wood Other |
| Interior Finish | Gypsum Board - Sheet Rock |
| Interior Paint | Low VOC |
| Floor Material | Carpet |
| Roof Material | Asphalt Composition Shingle |
| Window Material | Wood Dual Glazed |
| Insulation Material | Fiberglass |
Garage / Car Port
| Garage / Carport | yes |
| Garage Type | attached |
| Number of Cars | 2 |
| Garage Area | 400 sqft |
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