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Title: Nexus EnergyHomes, Frederick, Maryland (Fact Sheet)

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1124001· OSTI ID:1124001

With this new home - which achieved the highest rating possible under the National Green Building Standard - Nexus EnergyHomes demonstrated that green and affordable can go hand in hand. The mixed-humid climate builder, along with the U.S. Department of Energy Building America team Partnership for Home Innovation, embraced the challenge to create a new duplex home in downtown Frederick, Maryland, that successfully combines affordability with state-of-the-art efficiency and indoor environmental quality. To limit costs, the builder designed a simple rectangular shape and kept interesting architectural features such as porches outside the building's structure. This strategy avoided the common pitfall of creating potential air leakage where architectural features are connected to the structure before the building is sealed against air infiltration. To speed construction and limit costs, the company chose factory-assembled components such as structural insulated panel walls and floor and roof trusses. Factory-built elements were key in achieving continuous insulation around the entire structure. Open-cell spray foam at the rim joist and attic roofline completed the insulation package, and kept the heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning system in conditioned space.

Research Organization:
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Energy Efficiency Office. Building Technologies Office
DOE Contract Number:
AC36-08GO28308
OSTI ID:
1124001
Report Number(s):
DOE/GO-102014-4073
Resource Relation:
Related Information: Building America Case Study: Whole-House Solutions for New Homes, Building Technologies Office (BTO)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English