Home & Garden
Remodeled Simsbury Home to be an Energy Saving Showcase
An Open Wall Open House with presentations and a tour is slated for Saturday, June 9 at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
A modest 1980’s ranch home on the Farmington River in Simsbury has a new story to tell. As active outdoor people with an empty nest the new owners of this home had contemplated moving out of state. Realizing that everything they were looking for was right here in the town they loved and had lived in for years, they were ready when one of the few homes on the river came on the market. What the home lacked in charm and a good floor plan it more than made up for in that important real estate fundamental: location, location, location.
When they began working with Jamie Wolf of Wolfworks in Avon everyone agreed: the “front” should be facing the river. A plan was developed that made that transition. Wolfworks is celebrated for the homes they have built and remodeled that use dramatically less energy, some producing as much energy as they use. In planning this remodel they took the opportunity to reduce its energy use by 80 percent. So in more than one sense, they have “turned the house around.”
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A smaller and simpler mechanical system made it possible to eliminate a large central chimney fully opening the social spaces at the new “front” of the house to the river connection. An arced deck and a small round addition add missing architectural interest. New shingle siding over a thickened layer of exterior insulation and new triple glazed windows transform the exterior without complicating the simple ranch form.
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“It’s a pleasure to work with clients who value attractive architecture and the opportunity to reduce their carbon footprint that many projects like this overlook,” Wolf said.
Wolfworks’ projects often take advantage of the energizeCT programs that seek to spotlight “high performance” homes, which has led to Wolfworks winning the CT Zero Energy Challenge this year for the third time.
CT Zero Energy Challenge Program Director Nicholas Jones wanted to develop a program for major renovation projects that could achieve significant energy savings in the process of achieving the project’s architectural goals, similar to a program they have for new residential construction. They are using Wolfworks’ Simsbury renovation as a “pilot project” for the development of that program.
In anticipating what this home will demonstrate, Jones said, “It’s great to see that we’ve finally been able to come up with something that could be scaled for these types of projects.”
“As always, we are eager to show people that this is possible and share how we do it,” Wolf added.
An Open Wall Open House with presentations and a tour is slated for Saturday, June 9 at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. To register for the event, go to https://www.homesthatfit.com/open-wall-open-house/