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Floor Plan First Floor
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This plan has great flow and works well with all costal living scenarios. From the outdoor shower near the back door, to the transition\mudroom, this space actively addresses both form and function. The open dinning room\kitchen, with indoor\outdoor features (French Doors to the patio) creates a great family space to congregate and discuss the day’s events. The ample living room contains wonderful window lit reading benches, and features a fireplace for those cold costal nights. A two car garage provides ample space for all of the equipment and accoutrements that come with any beach house.
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Floor Plan Second Floor
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The second floor has an appropriately efficient use of space. Sleeping quarters in a beach home are just that, and there is not need for overkill when the real beauty is right outside your door. This floor plan allows for three bedrooms (including a master) and an upstairs washer and dryer. The master bedroom and bathroom are ample, but modest, while the guest bedrooms are small but manageable.
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Front of House
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Can you smell that salt filled sea air.... Inspired by nostalgic memories of family beach outings and cozy evenings around the bond fire, the Comfortable Cape mixes green design with classic appeal. This R-Control SIP based design represents a chance for FreeGreen to combine our unique design skills with a truly iconic cape style home that would be a great addition to any costal ocean community.
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SIP Layout
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Through the FreeGreen, R-Control SIPs relationship the Comfortable Cape has been pre-designed using super insulated SIPs. This image is a 3-D model of the existing SIP layout for this home. Just have your builder contact R-Control and the SIPs are ready to be manufactured and delivered for your project. Per the rendering, you can optionally have the garage built using R-Control SIPs, creating an extra conditioned space for studio work, workshops, or other hobby room activities.
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Back of House
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With its climbing Ivy and trellis covered patio, the back of this house offers a comfortable feel whether facing the Ocean or the street. The metal roof mixes effortlessly with the cedar shingles and allows the simple glazing formation to add an appealing accent to this façade.
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Living Room
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This open living room brings in the light and provides a great place to get away from the sometimes hectic family beach outings. Window lit reading benches provide a perfect area for simultaneous enjoyment of a good book and your outdoor surroundings. The fireplace serves as the focal point for this space. With the SIP based construction, it is likely to be the only heat source you’ll need on most nights.
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Dining Room
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What could be better then sitting around the dining room table playing a raucous game of Scrabble while overlooking your beautiful ocean view? This modest dining space creates the perfect location for such an occasion. As the connection between the kitchen and living room this space will also act as the hub for organized social gatherings in the morning and evenings.
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The obvious highlight of this space is the open, storage passage way, which frames the threshold between kitchen and dining room spaces. This feature has both form and function with built-in storage for the dining room, and open decorative space at the ceiling. Both spaces have French Doors leading to the patio, creating a sense of openness and easy of transfer. Whether cooking lobster or barbecuing burgers, this combined area provides a great place for family, friends, and neighbors to gather.
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Energy Features
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This design is super insulated with R-Control SIPs. These SIPs eliminate all thermal breaks in the walls and roof, and can reduce air infiltration by up to 90%.
The ductwork of the HVAC system is located entirely within the conditioned space of the building, which greatly enhances its efficiency over conventional installations. Additionally, a Heat Recovery Ventilator accomplishes two tasks:
1) It ensures healthy indoor air quality by continually expelling old, stale air from within the home and
2) It mediates the thermal properties between the outgoing and incoming airstreams, which further-increases the efficiency of the HVAC system.
Domestic hot water needs are met by an on-demand, tankless water heater. Building electricity is offset by 4kW of solar Evergreen Solar panels.
Optimal sun shading devices have been added to this design, but as always, it is recommended that you consult with FreeGreen to optimize orientation, glazing, and sun shading when building.
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Energy Performance
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FreeGreen selects materials and design details based on an iterative process using advanced energy modeling techniques. Our goal is not simply to maximize performance but rather maximize value through a careful consideration of cost vs. efficiency.
Free Green uses advanced energy simulation software to verify that the products and materials recommended are going to save you money. This image is a summary of that comparison, for this design, in a particular location. Since climate affects building and technology (e.g. solar) performance make sure you choose the city and state combinations closest to your building location when downloading our home plans. This way you will receive accurate energy performance data for your climate.
If you are interested in living in a zero energy house we recommend that you consult with our staff of engineers and architects. The best way to do this is to go through our Customization Process. Going Zero energy is a great idea but one that requires careful calculations in order to keep costs as low as possible.
