
Brush Creek Farmhouse – LEED Platinum
Located just outside of Nashville Tennessee, the Brush Creek Farmhouse is Energy Star certified and our firm’s latest LEED Platinum project. This “energy abundant” house produces more energy than it uses!
Our first step in planning this sustainable house was to evaluate the site. Elizabeth met with the Owners and walked the site to understand the views, solar orientation, and site assets.
Their farm has many special features to keep in mind. First, they have wonderful views of their surrounding property from the proposed house site. The best house site was on a somewhat level knoll near the middle of the property, just before the site slopes down to the woods and creek. Near the house site stands a large shade tree on a knoll with an 1800’s grave under its canopy. We knew this area needed to be protected from construction yet near to the new home. The house was orientated for full southern sun exposure on the roof, just beyond the shade of that large tree but close enough that the tree can be viewed from the house. The other site feature was an old tobacco barn siting near Brush Creek which runs through the farm. The Owners decided to have the barn taken down, de-nailed and planed for flooring.
This “energy abundant” house produces more energy than it uses!
The house has a HERS rating of zero which means the energy model of the home predicted that the home would produce as much energy as it consumed. Our Energy Modeler, Ken Block said “I’ve rated 300 units, and this is the first net zero I’ve rated. It’s very rare. And the owners are actually more efficient than the model anticipated, based on their utility bills.”
Additional home features include low VOC and zero VOC paints and finishes, reuse of the tobacco barn wood for flooring, local tile with high recycled content, water saving fixtures, drought tolerant landscaping, rain water harvesting and job site construction waste reduction.
The Owners wanted to “push the envelope” in creating a very sustainable, healthy and energy efficient home. Everyone involved helped to realize that goal for the Owners.
Design Team
Elizabeth Eason Architecture, Architect
Malia Engineering, Structural Engineering
Ragan Smith, Landscape Architect
Ken Block, LEED Green Rater
Southface, LEED for Homes Provider
Contractor
Green Home