Chapel Hill architect Arielle Schechter, AIA, helps builders embrace high-performance houses.

October 7, 2014 (Chapel Hill, NC) -- Should homebuilders produce houses that are as “21st century” as cell phones and automobiles? TecHomeBuilder.com believes they should. From sustainability technologies to CO2 monitoring, the website’s mission is to help homebuilders and designers learn how to create high-performance houses by including high-tech features both efficiently and profitably.

One way TecHomeBuilder.com does this is through webcasts. On Thursday, October 9, at 2 p.m. EST, Chapel Hill, NC, architect and passive house specialist Ariellle Condoret Schechter, AIA, will be the featured guest on the webcast “Riding The Red Hot Healthy Home Trend.”

Shechter and custom homebuilder Kevin Murphy of NewPhire Building in Chapel Hill, will discuss the host of “green” strategies and materials they used in “Happy Meadow Courtyard House,” perhaps the greenest single-family house in America, currently completing construction in Chapel Hill.

In September, TecHomeBuilder.com posted a story on this uber-green house entitled “Passive House Goes High Tech: The ultimate green home incorporates building science techniques and plenty of energy innovations.” The story listed the many green standards certifications this single-story, 2567-heated-square-foot house has received or will receive once it is completed. Among them are the National Association of Homebuilders Green Builders’ Standard Emerald certification, the standard’s highest rating; and PHIUS Passive House Plus, one of the most difficult certifications to receive.

During the webcast, Schechter will help viewers understand that passive homes like Happy Meadow start with attention to such “low-tech” considerations as orientation on the site to maximize natural ventilation from prevailing breezes and natural light; deep roof overhangs to block the high sun in the summer; a special white roof membrane to reflect heat; triple-pane windows; and super-insulation in the roof, walls, and flooring. They also created a wildlife habitat and frog pond on the property.

Where passive principles stop technology takes over: She and Murphy will discuss the green technologies they employed -- including a photovoltaic array, geothermal heating and cooling, a rainwater capture system, and the “CERV” ventilation system, to name only a few -- to make this house net zero for energy use and perhaps net positive when it produces more energy than it uses.

They will also explain how up-front investments in sustainable materials and green technologies reduces a high-performance house's energy consumption and costs to a fraction of that of a conventional house.

Viewing the “Riding The Red Hot Healthy Home Trend” webcast requires preregistration (at no cost). Go to www.techomebuilder.com, click on “Events,” scroll down to “Webcasts,” then click on “Register for the Webcast” under the name of the show.

About Arielle Condoret Schechter, AIA:

Arielle Condoret Schechter, AIA, is a licensed, registered architect based in Chapel Hill, NC, who specializes in Modernist, energy-efficient buildings of all types and sizes, especially houses. She admits that she is “obsessed with light,” which drives her designs more than any other single element. Her firm also offers landscape design, interior and lighting design, and custom furniture and fixtures. She attended the North Carolina School of the Arts, the Julliard School of Music, and NC State University’s College of Design. She lives with her husband, Arnie Schechter, and an assortment of foster animals in a Modern, energy-efficient house she designed. For more information: www.acsarchitect.com.

About TecHome Builder:

TecHomeBuilder.com is a primary resource for homebuilders who want to make the inclusion of high-tech features in the homes they build efficient and profitable, from energy, lighting and HVAC and IAQ to advanced appliances, electronics, and connectivity. TecHomeBuilder.com provides education, application strategies, and inspiration. For more information: www.techomebuilder.com.