The 713 Project: For the Journey Wins the outstanding LEED project award

The “For the Journey” project is a LEED for Homes Gold, GHI Net Zero Certified, and all-electric home using a building science approach and moisture management for an indoor treadmill-like pool and includes in-floor radiant, both addressing the client’s Raynaud’s syndrome. This home introduced a pre-fabricated, frost-protected shallow foundation system from Scandinavia for the first time in Michigan. It allowed the home to be built as a slab on grade on a site with an unusually high water table, created a passive solar energy storing thermal battery slab, and provided the opportunity for the ground source heat pump powered in-floor radiant and for water heating it uses an air source heat pump system. For air sealing, the home utilizes a blown-in material that can target the air sealing goals of the project and achieve the desired outcomes, which was 1 ACH. From a health perspective, the home has all hard surfaces that are moisture resistant, an energy recovery ventilator, and an air quality monitor device installed to ensure health features work. The home is designed with solar and batteries to avoid peak energy use and feedback solar to the grid during the peak times when carbon is most intense, and typically, help avoid the peaker plants that are polluting more often low-income communities. This technology and passive solar ensure resiliency in the event of more frequent grid outages due to worsening climate change.

The project was recently selected to be featured as the 2023 USGBC LEED For Homes Outstanding Single Family Project of the Year.