Goldbranch Estates
• Conditioned Area: 12,000 Sq/Ft
• Walls: R25 2x6 with Icynene + 1" XPS
• Ceiling: R43 with Icynene
• Windows: R3 Low-e
• Heating: Ground Source Heat Pump
• Cooling: Ground Source Heat Pump
• Ventilation: HRV
• Air Tightness: 0.14 NACH
• Solar: 36.0 kW Photovoltaic System (PV)
Goldbranch Estates is a luxury residential development in Niwot, Colorado. Sustainably Built consulted with the owners and the builder/architect, Steven DeWitt Architecture. Boulder County's Build Smart program required that the home be built to a HERS score of 10 or below. But the home was for the most part already designed before the new codes came into place. Also, the lot and orientation were not suited for good passive solar design. Despite these complications, we were able to come up with a combination of great insulation, high efficiency ground source heat pumps, and a large solar PV array to go above and beyond the code requirements and reach a HERS score of -6!
Here is what owner Ronald Abramson had to say about working with us:
"Adam and Mark, Steven DeWitt just passed along to me the fact that we achieved a HERS -6 on my new house. What an astounding score! I definitely wanted to be in negative territory but never thought we could get that low.
I wanted to pass along my sincere appreciation for the efforts that both of you made in helping me achieve this remarkable HERS rating. I appreciate you both helping me when we got in the weeds on things and guiding us out of them to a fantastic spot. This was truly a first-class team effort and I am highly appreciative of your assistance on this outstanding project."
