Green dream home features solar photovolatic system installed by SEM.
A steel canopy leads to the main entry of this modernist home that is anchored by a masonry hearth surrounded by concrete floors that glisten thanks to an etching process that binds with minerals in the concrete and makes every floor a unique work of art. Zuco’s floors have a bluish grey background with accents of copper and green swirling to the top in what looked like to me wispy cirrus cloud designs.
“I’ve had a couple of guests tell me they can’t believe how much color comes from the floor,”Zuco said. “The white walls of the house act kind of like a reverse decorating.”
Large windows with deep overhangs let in so much indirect light that electric lighting is hardly needed most of the day. They also provide beautiful views of the meadows and wood surrounding the houses. The master bedroom has practically a 270-degree view out to the woods on the east, north and south sides. The Low-E, double-pane windows and heavily insulated walls make the house very quiet, which is amazing considering that the house is just off the highly-traveled U.S. 15-501 south of Chapel Hill.
Zuco purchased the land in January 2008 and finalized the house design with Lanou and Owings by June 2008. Zuco credits the fast and easy turn-around in his home’s design to the similar goals and interests of himself and the people at BuildSense and Studio B Architecture. “They cater to contemporary and green homes,” Zuco said. “With me working for EPA, that worked for me pretty well.”
BuildSense broke ground on the house in October 2008 and finished the project in August 2009. The building of the house took a little longer than Zuco anticipated, but was about average for a house that size being built in a watershed district in Orange County.
“The things that you think will delay you, (those delays) will pop up somewhere else,” Zuco said. “For example, I didn’t know the stormwater department would be as difficult to please as they were.”
Zuco’s advice to anyone embarking on building is, “Be patient. It can be a long process. It was also amazingly fun. I would do it over if given the opportunity and chance.” Zuco worked closely with Owings, who was BuildSense’s project leader on the house. So closely, that when talking about decisions that were made concerning style and features, Zuco, who is single, often speaks in the plural “we.” As in, “We installed photo-voltaic panels in the back field, 100 feet from the house.”
For an environmentally conscious guy, this photo-voltaic system is an important feature. South-facing like the house, the panels, installed by Southern Energy Management of Morrisville (919-836-0330), are estimated to generate 30-40 percent of the home’s power. Another plus, net metering feeds back into Progress Energy, so Zuco will get credits on his electric bill. The 12 individual panels create a 2.7 kilowatt system for this Energy Star certified house. See the full story published by triangle.com!
