Here are some of the features that make PNC SmartHome Cleveland so smart:
• Shape: The home’s simple, rectangular shape means there’s less exterior surface area where heat can be lost or gained.
• Walls: The exterior walls were built from 2-by-6 lumber instead of the usual 2-by-4s. That created a deeper space for extra blown-in insulation and provided cavities for pipes and wires.
The outside surfaces of the walls were covered with an air barrier and then by structural insulated panels. Those two layers add even more insulation and air sealing.
With all those layers, the exterior walls are about a foot thick, with an insulating value of about R-50. That’s significantly higher than the minimum R-13 required for exterior walls in Ohio.
• Doors and windows: The German-made doors and windows close much more tightly than typical doors —like a bank vault, SmartHome promoters say. The aluminum-clad wood windows are made from three panes of glass, with argon gas between the layers.
• Construction methods: Holes and seams in the outer surfaces of the living space were sealed to keep air from escaping. The walls also were designed to prevent heat from being conducted by the wood in the framing, a phenomenon called thermal bridging.
• Ventilation: An air exchanger continually brings in fresh outdoor air and expels stale indoor air. An entire houseful of air is exchanged about every three hours.
Before indoor air leaves the house, fans push it through channels, where warmth is transferred to the incoming air. That means the incoming air is already heated at least partly as it enters the living space, requiring less or even no energy to bring it to a comfortable level.
• Roof: The shingles have granules that reflect the sun’s rays and keep the roof cooler — and by extension, the entire house.
• Siding: The fiber-cement siding was made without petroleum-based chemicals and requires little maintenance.
• Landscaping: Landscaping features were designed to capture rainwater for reuse or encourage it to percolate through the soil and be filtered naturally, rather than running off into storm sewers and carrying pollutants to bodies of water.
Pervious concrete and pavers allow water to move through them to the soil. A rain garden collects rainwater until it can drain into the ground. A 500-gallon cistern captures water that runs off the roof so it can be used later on the landscape.
In addition, the trees, shrubs, flowers and grasses are mostly plants that are native to Northeast Ohio, so they should thrive with little maintenance.
• Detached garage: While the SmartHome has no garage now, it will at its permanent site. The garage will be detached so fumes and chemicals are kept away from the house.
— Mary Beth Breckenridge