The Somerville Office of Sustainability and Environment (OSE) announced their support  for a recently renovated two-family house as a model of Net-Zero Energy building for the city. “Net Zero Energy building” is a new construction practice where buildings are designed to produce as much energy as they consume, and this renovated home, owned by Chungha Cha of Susterra Partners in Korea and located at 13 Elmwood St. is the first Net-Zero home in the city. It is also the first building in Somerville to attain a Tier 3 rating from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star program and conforms to EPA Federal Indoor airPLUS certification for indoor air quality through its ventilation and insulation building technique. OSE encourages others constructing residential units in the city to learn from the environmentally conscious techniques used in this revolutionary design for this home.

The home, a spacious two-family double-decker a short distance from Davis Square, utilized “green” construction techniques in areas such as insulation, heating and cooling, ventilation and structural reinforcement to minimize the building carbon footprint while still maintaining a spacious living-area. It also produces all electricity and heat through two different kinds of state-of-the-art solar panels, which are applied in an innovative design of having the electricity-producing photovoltaic panels set atop the heat-producing thermal for maximum spatial efficiency.

“This is a model of how we in the City of Somerville would hope to see building and renovation projects continue, particularly since it expands upon services we currently offer through OSE, such as assistance in green building and renovation through the Residential Energy Efficiency Program, which provides financial assistance and support – free of charge – to homeowners trying to find cost-saving methods to increase energy efficiency,” said OSE Director David Lutes.  “Net-Zero Energy Buildings are the way the construction industry should be heading in and I commend the developer for their leadership in this area.”

Lutes praised architecture firm Amacher and Associates for their work in designing the home. Amacher and Associates is a full-service architecture firm with over 25 years of experience. They specialize in green-building techniques and are led by veteran architect Franziska Amacher.

“Our goal was to reconfigure the layout to match with a modern lifestyle,” Amacher. “This reconfiguration helped create a spacious layout within a small floor area, while many implementing cutting-edge materials and amenities in the name of sustainability.  All materials are either low or no VOC (volatile organic chemicals), including paints, floor sealers, caulking, glues, cabinets. There are no combustion gases. No fossil fuels such as gas is used in the building.  We have neither a chimney, gas stoves nor gas dryers and not even a closed combustion heating system.  It is truly a sustainable home, and a beacon for future projects in the City of Somerville and the region.

While only the first Net-Zero Energy building completed here in Somerville both Amacher and Lutes hope that this will be the first of many environmentally-conscientious homes here in the city.