Case Studies on Award-Winning Deltec Homes

Deltec Homes is so honored that FOUR of our certified Zero Energy Ready Home projects have won the US Department of Energy’s Housing Innovation Awards. Since 2013, the DOE Housing Innovation Awards have honored the very best in innovation on the path to zero energy ready homes by recognizing forward-thinking builders delivering American homebuyers with a better homeowner experience.

According to Sam Rashkin, Chief Architect at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Building Technologies Office, “Housing Innovation Award winners are leading a major housing industry transformation to zero energy ready homes. This level of performance is the home of the future because it improves the way Americans live by substantially reducing or eliminating utility bills, ensuring engineered comfort way beyond traditional homes, protecting health with a comprehensive package of indoor air quality measures, and helping maximize the largest investment of a lifetime.”

Zero Energy Ready Homes use the very best practices in sustainable construction to offer clients a healthful environment, comfort plus, advanced technology, ultra-efficient, quality-built, and durable homes. Only the attention to detail provided by a builder deeply versed in building science, who follows this third party standard and is inspected by a third party Rater can deliver this kind of experience to a homeowner.

Check out the image galleries and case studies of each of these projects below.

Deltec 360 Design Studio in Michighan’s Upper Peninsula– 2024 Housing Innovation Award Winner

Model uses a 1200 building block connected to a garage, with a timber frame entry porch and covered roof over defck sections.
From kitchen looking out over living room at the lake view.
More lake views.
Side view of “three seasons porch’ area.
back view, showing outdoor sauna.
Front elevtion
Remote, beaitufil site.
Systems include an air to water heat pump with hydronic radiant heat delivery, and a heat pump water hetaer.
Porch views.

This owner-builder’s goal was to create his own home, according to high performance goals he had been reading about and dreaming about for many years. On the shores of Lake Superior, in the remote upper peninsula of Michigan (climmte zone 7, to the energy nerds), with 130 mile per hour design winds and an average of 202 inches of snow a year, energy efficiency and wind resistance were both critical features.

Even though located in the coldest climate zone in the continental US, this super insulated home uses all-electric systems for heating, cooling, water heating, and cooling, including an innovative air-to-water heat pump for hydronic heating and fan-coil unit cooling and a heat pump water heater. With the use of Deltec’s double-stud wall and triple pane windows and critical attention to air-sealing during construction, the home scored an impressed 0.92ACH50 on it’s blower door.

Click here to download a short case study from the DOE.

Click here to see an online tour of this home.

Ridgeline E in Hamilton Ohio –2023 Housing Innovation Award Winner

Kitchen view, mini-split heat pump for this level on the right.
Living room view looking toward the kitchen.
Small loft area built above one bedroom.
in wall dehumidifier.
Heat pump water heater and Zehnder ERV.
Side view showing back patio.
These owner-builder clients went all out with high performance details during construction. Lead by a former engineer, the team took no shortcuts when doing the on-site air sealing, flashing, insulation detailing, and interior systems specifications that happen on site and that Deltec’s green building department can offer guidance on. Local students and community members helped with the build while also receiving career training. The owner-builders are now with local government in their small town in Ohio to implement incentives for green building in the area.

High performance features include an innovative and highly insulated basement design, an impressive 0.46ACH50 air tightness score (the lowest on record for Deltec), a single ductless mini-split per level, heat pump water heater, Zehnder Heat Recovery Ventilator for both fresh air and home air distribution, high efficiency appliances, and an in-wall dehumidifier.

Click here to download a short case study.

Click here to see an online tour of this home.

Ridgeline F in Wilmington North Carolina–2021 Housing Innovation Award Grand Winner

Side view, including rain garden designed by homeowner in conjunction with local watershed resources.
Living room.
The custom “four seasons room” that the clients added to their RIdgeline F design.
Built-In corner desk.
These clients put the finishing touches on their modified Ridgeline F plan at the start of this 2021 in Wilmington, NC. With the help of their local builder, Old School Rebuilders, they also sought to build a Deltec Home certified to the DOE’s Zero Energy Ready Home Program. Homes built to this challenging program must have only the most effective, practical, and forward thinking sustainable building strategies, such as insulation levels that go beyond current energy codes, high performing comfort systems, fresh air ventilation, efficient water fixtures, and materials design for durability. While many of our homeowners incorporate these elements into their homes, this certification ensures that all elements function well together, and as designed, because they are inspected by a third party, and at the end of the project the home is tested.

High performance design features include energy efficient heat pumps for home heating, cooling, and water heating, induction range, solar PV, electric car charging station, and smart home energy monitoring and water monitoring features. Resiliency features include upgraded hurricane strapping, non-toxic pest control treatment, and a “rain garden” landscaping design developed in conjunction with local watershed agencies.

Click here to download full DOE case study.

Click here to see an online tour of this home.

Click here to read our own case study on this project.

Ridgeline B in Mills River North Carolina–2019 Housing Innovation Award Winner

Back view.
Sun-tempered living, kitchen, and dining space.
Kitchen space, featuring low-voc finishes.
Left side view.
A view of the house under construction in beautiful WNC fall.
This custom Ridgeline B built by our in-house building company here in Western North Carolina was our regions’ first certified Zero Energy Ready Home. Featuring advanced insulation practices, mini split heat pumps, a heat pump water heater, a manually controlled hot water re-circulation loop, low-VOC finishes, and a net-metered solar electric system, Zero Energy Ready Home certification took many of the inherent green home construction goals of the clients and added in third party verification that the systems worked as designed.

Click here to download short case study.

Click here to see an online tour of this home.

Click here and here for articles about this home in other green home media outlets.

Click here to learn more about the Zero Energy Ready Home program.

Click here about how to make your own Deltec home build project “ready for zero.”