Ground Breaks on DC's First Passive House in Deanwood
✉️ Want to forward this article? Click here.

This morning, Empowerhouse, a team of students from Parsons The New School for Design, The Milano School of International Affairs, Management and Urban Policy at The New School, and Stevens Institute of Technology, held a ground breaking ceremony for a net-zero, two‐family home in Deanwood.
The development of the home is being done in conjunction with the Department of Energy’s 2011 Solar Decathalon, which will take place on the Mall at the end of September. Developed with Habitat for Humanity and the DC Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), the project will be one of the first passive houses in the District.
Once built, the two-unit property will use state-of-the-art passive energy technologies, which aim for maximum energy efficiency to reduce the need for supplemental electricity production. Each unit is designed as a “net‐zero” system , so the home’s energy use will be approximately 1/10th of its neighbors.
Site in Deanwood
While the Solar Decathalon will take place on the Mall, the Empowerhouse team is constructing the home on the campus of the Stevens Institute of Technology, and then shipping and reconstructing it on the Mall for the competition. At the end of the Decathalon, it will be moved to 4642 Gault Place NE (map) and expanded into a two‐family home. Habitat for Humanity will select the families who will live there.
The team is also working with Deanwood’s Lederer Community Youth Garden to provide plantings for a roof garden and vegetable window boxes, and will create a system of modular furnishings for the home.
Similar Posts:
See other articles related to: deanwood, editors choice, green real estate, green real estate dc, net zero home, solar power
This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/empowerhouse_team_breaks_ground_on_net_zero_home_in_deanwood/3734.
Most Popular... This Week • Last 30 Days • Ever

In this edition of First-Timer Primer, we look into the question of how to determine ... read »

A Roth IRA is one of those accounts that people feel is totally off limits until you ... read »

This is one of the more intriguing adaptive reuse proposals of the year.... read »

On this day of 100+ degree heat, we take a look at a novel proposal aiming to bring r... read »

Construction has begun on a long-planned residential project along the H Street Corri... read »
- First-Timer Primer: Is This Condo Building Financially Healthy?
- First-Timer Primer: How A Retirement Account Can Help Buy A Home
- The Plan To Turn A Rock Creek Park Estate Into A Suburban-Style Pool and Tennis Club
- The Plan To Throw Shade On Cleveland Park
- 49-Unit H Street Project Breaks Ground As Corridor Ponders Its Future
DC Real Estate Guides
Short guides to navigating the DC-area real estate market
We've collected all our helpful guides for buying, selling and renting in and around Washington, DC in one place. Start browsing below!
First-Timer Primers
Intro guides for first-time home buyers
Unique Spaces
Awesome and unusual real estate from across the DC Metro










