Deer Cliff · Avon, Connecticut

45 Deer Cliff earned the 2011 HOBI Award for Best Green Energy Efficient Custom Home — the highest recognition in Connecticut residential construction for green performance. The HERS index came in at 26. Annual energy cost: $3,433. That combination of awards and verified performance is what LMT Custom Homes builds toward on every project.

The envelope starts at the foundation: Delta MS waterproofing membrane, 2 inches of Dow Type IV blueboard under the basement slab and garage floor, 1 inch on exterior walls. Basement walls and rim joists are sprayed with 3 inches of closed cell spray foam. Above grade, 2×6 framing with advanced techniques — California corners, insulated headers — carries 2 inches of 2-pound closed cell foam plus 3 inches of open cell foam on exterior walls and 10 inches of open cell foam in the sloped ceilings.

All sheet metal ductwork is installed with mastic to prevent air leakage; Speedi-Boots at every register. Windows are energy saver plus insulated dual low-e annealed glass preserve film, argon-filled, aluminum clad Jeld-Wen — U-value 0.27. Exterior siding: Hardie plank. Trim: Kleer PVC.

The south roof carries 45 SunPower 225-watt PV modules — a 10.125-kilowatt solar electric system estimated to produce 12,000 kilowatt-hours a year. Four AET solar thermal collectors feed a 120-gallon Superstor stainless solar hot water storage tank for all domestic hot water.

The house is NAHB Gold Green Certified, participates in the Builders Challenge, and is Energy Star certified. Poirier Homes LLC — our company — is committed 100% to building Energy Star homes. The documentation record for this build is among the most complete in the Farmington Valley: foundation plans, all floor plans, window schedule, roof plans, HERS rating, Energy Star certificate, and the full CT Zero Energy Challenge file are available below.