Energy-efficient construction

Our house is featured on the annual Green Homes tour, because it features a number of materials and arrangements that significantly conserve energy and other resources, while enhancing the building's livability quotient. (However, ours not a perfect example, and there are many green homes being built today—one of them in our neighborhood—that are touted as "zero-emission," with amazingly low ecological footprints.)

Windows. Following standard solar guidelines, most of our windows are located on the east and south walls to maximize solar gain and minimize heat loss. Most are double-glazed casement windows, with tight gaskets that minimize air infiltration. They were purchased used when the house was being built. They were state of the art about 25 years ago. Today there are windows on the market that are even more energy-efficient. They can be very pricey, but considering the cost of the fuel they can save, they are normally a very good investment

Framing, sealing, and insulation. All the walls are six inches thick, but instead of 2 x 6 studs, there are staggered 2 x4 studs. This prevents the relatively low R-value wood from conducting heat to the outside wall. The resulting space was filled with blown wet cellulose insulation (pulverized newspaper with fire retardant), which eliminated all air gaps. Also, gaps arround window and door frames were filled with expanding foam insulation. With all these features, the house is so tight that it is necessary (and desirable) to duct in fresh air to the wood heater's firebox so the fire will have enough oxygen to burn efficiently. We also should be looking into some kind of heat-exchange system that removes stale air while saving some of the heat.

Design. The house is a traditional two-story salt-box style that allows the upper floor to reuse heat from the lower floor. The square-ish footprint also conserves heat better than a long ranch-style would. (Different climates call for different designs, of course.) The relatively open interior promotes better air circulation and allows more even heating. (This sometimes carries the drawback of fewer opportunities for visual and auditory privacy.) Like most people, we sometimes wish our house had more storage space. But a shouldn't a green house also discourage people from collecting too much stuff?