CLP receives nearly $500,00 in grants Riverside Development Group has completed Pittsburgh's first Net-Zero Energy home. The 1,850-square-foot residence is part of
Riverside Mews, a 48-unit townhouse community developed, starting in 2007, on a former brownfield site between 18th and 19th Streets on the South Side.
As with the rest of the development, the Net-Zero home was designed by Perkins Eastman Architects and Strada, and built by Sota Construction Services, Inc., which has built many LEED-designed projects, such as Blackbird Condominiums and Artist Studios in Lawrenceville, WYEP Community Broadcasting Center on the South Side and the Felician Sisters School and Convent in Moon Township.
The Net-Zero home generates as much power as it uses on an annual basis through an 8,000-watt photo-voltaic roof mounted array. The townhome's energy use is minimized through super-insulation methods, a geothermal heat pump, LED lighting, and other energy measures including Energy Star-rated products.
Through the Energy Star HERS rating system, a score of 100 means a home meets energy requirements, explains developer Ernie Sota. An 85 gets a home Energy Star status. "We're at a -4," says Sota, who has been involved in green building since the 1970s.
The Net-Zero home's energy performance was achieved and certified in collaboration with expert energy consultants and engineers of MaGrann Associates.
The house is listed at $489,000, and is being marketed by ERA Lechner & Associates, Inc. Federal tax incentives, including a geo-thermal tax credit, are available. A public open house will be held at the home at 1820 Merriman Way on Sat., April 24 and Sun., April 25 from noon to 4 p.m.
To date, 14 homes of Riverside Mews' planned 48 have been completed. Of those, 12 have been sold and are occupied, and two remain model units. Six more units are under construction, two of which have already sold. Homes range from 1,800 to 3,000 square feet. All homes in the development -- not just the Net-Zero home -- are designed and built to be energy efficient.
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Writer: Caralyn Green
Source: Ernie Sota, Sota Construction Services, Inc.
Photograph courtesy of Sota Construction Services, Inc.