Sun-Soaked West Virginia Home Goes Net Zero

Most mini-splits operate like a standard air-source heat pump, with an outdoor condenser/compressor, but without the expense or space required for ducts. In this home, without ducts, conditioned air wouldn’t be able to reach the bedrooms. An eight-inch-tall ducted air handler was concealed in the hallway’s dropped ceiling, to preserve the ceiling’s thermal integrity. The duct runs down the hall to feed into the bedrooms. The ducts were routed in the attic above the primary ceilings and buried under 16 inches of blown-in fiberglass insulation.

The home’s 6.3 kW PV system generates about 700 kWh per month; the house, however, consumes about 563 kWh per month. While the kitchen has a propane cooktop and the wood-burning masonry heater, the home has all-electric appliances. Much of the home’s winter heat comes from the unique, masonry wood stove at the center of the home.  

Heat and Pizza 

Hennessy had lived in a home with a masonry wood stove back in the 1980s and was eager to have one in her new home. “These stoves have a complex chimney and flu system that effectively retains the heat,” Palmer says. The couple bought a kit with a pizza oven. They had the core installed, then covered the exterior with stones they collected on their property. “Our masonry stove is a novelty and heats the house wonderfully,” Palmer says.

In the winter, the couple fires up the wood stove to keep their home at about 69-degrees F. When the temperature dips, they burn two or three fires. “The masonry wood stoves burn a fire incredibly hot,” Palmer explains. “It’s a short fire. You load it up, burn it out, and the heat starts radiating out of stone structure. That’s a ton-and-a-half of stone that heats up and stays warm for the day. The best time for pizza is on those coldest days because after burning two or three times, the pizza oven gets hot enough.” If needed, the couple can turn on electric heat, which they use three or four times a year.

Open Space, Reclaimed Timbers 

The windows to the south, which bring in passive solar, overlook the native meadow the couple restored. Inside, they wanted to use reclaimed lumber for the loft and staircase. They found some from an 1880’s woolen factory in Connecticut, close to where Hennessy grew up. The factory worked with recycled or “shoddy” wool. “We like having those in our home and the story to go with it,” she says.

The home’s vaulted ceilings create airy, open living areas. “Rita and Sean wanted a large loft and clerestory for both light and passive cooling, but did not want supporting columns,” Coleman says. “That was a structural challenge. To solve this, we had to use a large beam to hold up the roof of the clerestory.”

The dining room has a large bay window with east, south, and west: the porch blocks most of the late afternoon summer sun. “We might have bumped out the dining room a bit more, to accommodate our dinner parties and entertaining,” Hennessy says. She adds that the couple could use a few more feet in the laundry area, as well. “But these are little things,” Hennessy says.

“We also built this house for aging in place,” Palmer adds. “We’ve cared for elderly parents, so we’re aware of how our home needs to accommodate us in the future. For instance, there’s only one step up into the house. The bedrooms and baths are on one level. When we get to the point where we can’t walk to the mailbox, that’s when we’ll know it’s time to move.”