Where Does One Start?

“If You Don’t Know Where You Are Going, All Roads Lead There”

Few of us are experts in designing houses. However, most of us have a general idea about what we want to accomplish when building our new home. The more specific our goals, the more likely that we will be able to identify design concepts that will attain them. The better we understand design concepts, the easier it will be to find experienced experts to help us. The more experienced our experts, the more likely we are to bring our goals to fruition.

Start with “Why”

Why are you building a new home? What do you want it to accomplish for you? What are your goals for this house?

I am a big advocate of writing a clear goal statement with as much detail as possible to clarify why you are building a new home and what you hope to accomplish. The statement helps you focus your thinking, helps you engage your partner to ensure that you have similar goals, and is a great starting point for identifying experts who can help you.

Here is my statement of goals for a new house.

I want to stay in my home as long as I can. My current home was perfect for me when we were raising a family, but it is not suitable for my wife and I as we get older.

I want to minimize my carbon footprint. I am concerned about the environment. I would like to create an example for others who would like to do the same. I would like to create an energy-efficient home and reduce my reliance on fossil fuels.

I want to create a home that is comfortable and healthy. My current home is 80 years old. It is difficult to heat in winter and difficult to cool in summer. It is drafty. It lacks adequate insulation. I have difficulty in controlling the air particulates – my furnace filters fill with dust. I have difficulty controlling humidity, especially in the winter when the house is very dry. I want a home that addresses these problems.

I am willing to pay any extra costs associated with construction processes that attain these objectives.

Get Creative

One has resources that were unimaginable a few years ago. One of which is free AI services such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot. With a clear goal statement, one can query these sources to obtain greater clarity regarding how these goals translate into design and construction practices.

As an example, I entered this prompt to Googles’ Gemini.

“I am building a new house. I am not sure what type of house I want to build. My ideas about what I want to accomplish are summarized below. Please provide me with some ideas about what type of home I could construct to accomplish what I seek in a house.”  {Goal Statement copied and pasted}

The response was surprising and extremely helpful. What do you think?

“It sounds like you are looking to build a sustainable, accessible, and healthy home for aging in place. Here are some home style and construction ideas that address your goals:

Home Styles & Layout:

·         Ranch or Single-Story: This is the most obvious choice for aging in place, eliminating stairs and making all areas easily accessible. If a second story is desired, ensure an elevator or lift is incorporated.

·         Open Floor Plan: This creates a sense of spaciousness, improves maneuverability for wheelchairs or walkers, and enhances natural light and ventilation.

·         Universal Design Principles: These principles focus on creating spaces usable by everyone, regardless of age or ability. Key features include:

o    Wide doorways and hallways: Accommodate wheelchairs and walkers.

o    Zero-step entries: Eliminate tripping hazards.

o    Lever door handles and rocker light switches: Easier to operate for those with limited dexterity.

o    Reinforced bathroom walls: Allow for future installation of grab bars.

o    Roll-in showers: No threshold to step over.

Construction & Materials for Energy Efficiency and Reduced Carbon Footprint:

·         Passive House Design: This rigorous standard focuses on superinsulation, airtight construction, high-performance windows, and heat recovery ventilation to minimize energy consumption for heating and cooling. This is the gold standard for energy efficiency.

·         Net-Zero Energy: Design the house to produce as much energy as it consumes annually, typically through solar panels or other renewable energy sources.

·         Advanced Framing Techniques: Optimize lumber usage to reduce waste and improve insulation.

·         Insulated Concrete Forms (ICFs): These create highly insulated walls with minimal air leakage, contributing to energy efficiency and soundproofing.

·         Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs): These prefabricated panels offer excellent insulation and structural strength, speeding up construction and minimizing waste.

·         Sustainable Materials: Choose materials with low embodied carbon, such as:

o    Engineered lumber (e.g., cross-laminated timber or CLT): Uses smaller trees and can sequester carbon.

o    Recycled and reclaimed materials: Reduce demand for new resources.

o    Locally sourced materials: Minimize transportation emissions.

·         High-Performance Windows and Doors: Triple-paned windows with low-E coatings and airtight seals are essential for minimizing heat loss and gain.

Creating a Healthy Indoor Environment:

·         Heat Recovery Ventilation (HRV) or Energy Recovery Ventilation (ERV): These systems provide continuous fresh air while recovering heat or energy from the exhaust air, improving indoor air quality and energy efficiency. ERVs are particularly good at controlling humidity.

·         Whole-House Air Filtration: Install a high-efficiency air filtration system to remove dust, pollen, and other allergens from the air.

·         Humidity Control: A whole-house humidifier or dehumidifier can maintain optimal humidity levels, preventing dryness in winter and mold growth in summer.

·         Low-VOC Materials: Choose paints, adhesives, and other building materials with low or no volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to minimize indoor air pollution.

·         Radon Mitigation System: If you live in an area with radon concerns, install a radon mitigation system to prevent radon gas from entering the home.

Renewable Energy Systems:

·         Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Panels: Generate electricity from sunlight.

·         Solar Hot Water System: Use solar energy to heat water for domestic use.

·         Geothermal Heat Pump: Use the earth's stable temperature to heat and cool the home efficiently.

Other Considerations:

·         Water Conservation: Install low-flow fixtures, rainwater harvesting systems, and drought-tolerant landscaping.

·         Smart Home Technology: Integrate smart thermostats, lighting controls, and other devices to optimize energy usage and improve comfort.”

As it turns out, I will be implementing most of these recommendations in the design and construction of my new home. However, had I not chosen to do so, I still would have learned a great deal in a short period of time. I would have obtained suggestions that I could research to determine whether they make sense to me. Plus, I would have had a detailed list of topics to discuss with potential architects, consultants, and contractors as I moved forward.

Form Your Team

Interestingly, the recommendations from Gemini provide a sense of what types of experts one needs to retain. If one chooses to pursue most of the suggestions above, one should seek out an architect who has experience in design principles associated with aging in place, passive house principles, net zero energy principles, solar technology, geothermal technology, and smart home technology.

I chose TBDA Architects at Sustainable Green Architecture Firm | TBDA in Oak Park, Illinois for several reasons: 

1.      They have years of experience designing and building passive homes (they designed the first passive home in Illinois a decade ago).

2.      Their homes are award winning.

3.      They are local (for me), though they have a broad Midwest presence.

4.      Their principals are nationally recognized experts, having received the highest awards and certifications from their professional associations. They are frequent lecturers at universities and seminars throughout the Midwest.

What Sites Are Helpful in Understanding Passive Home Design?

While the above example uses Google Gemini as the AI agent, I like ChatGPT. Its features include links to web resources where further detail can be found. It is nice to be able to refer directly to the source material.

I am a visual learner and favor YouTube videos over written content. I have a few “go to” sites that I frequent. I hope they are helpful for you:

1. Undecided with Matt Ferrell - YouTube. Matt Ferrell has been posting on YouTube for several years. Recently, he built a prefabricated, zero energy, passive house. He posts frequently about his experiences with the home and the technology within.

2. Just Have a Think - YouTube. Dave Borlace posts videos that may not solely focus on passive homes, but he chooses topics about new energy saving (and earth-saving) technologies, some of which are applicable to renewable energy and efficient use of energy (e.g., solar panels, heat pumps, and wind turbines, batteries).

3. Green Energy Futures - YouTube. Green Energy Futures describes itself as a site that “tells inspiring stories of people involved in the clean energy revolution in Canada.”  David Dodge is the host. The show has a distinctive “Canadian” feel to it. The site is full of examples of people and communities that have embraced green energy and their successes and challenges. Green Energy Futures maintains a website: Green Energy Futures - The Clean Energy Revolution

4. Passive House School with Anton - YouTube. Anton Dobrevski provides a technical, but understandable, overview of the elements of a passive house (e.g., insulation, air exchange, and airtightness). The posts are infrequent, but worthwhile if you want to dig into the details.

5. EkoBuilt Passive Homes - YouTube. This is a site that promotes passive homes. The site is hosted by a Canadian company that sells plans and prefabricated passive homes. That said, it is full of advice and frequently highlights the experiences people who built passive homes. I like the way owners explain their objectives and how those objectives were met (or not).

6. This Old House - YouTube. The hosts of this long-standing television and YouTube series have posted some informative videos about passive and zero-energy homes (e.g., electrical vehicle charging at home, solar installations, heat pump options, and geothermal heating and cooling). I like the simple and informative way This Old House presents information – easy to understand and relevant.