Residential, Custom Single-Family Home
DOE Zero Energy Ready Home: Vienna, VA
Vienna, Virginia
This custom home in Vienna, Virginia, was designed around a simple philosophy: make the house perform first, then add solar. The 4,955-square-foot DOE Zero Energy Ready SIP home uses Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) for the exterior walls to create the highly insulated, airtight building envelope needed to dramatically reduce energy demand before relying on renewable energy. The all-electric home earned a HERS Index of just 13 and U.S. Department of Energy Zero Energy Ready Home certification.
ACME supplied 6 1/2-inch SIP walls with a 5 5/8-inch EPS core and R-24 rating. The prefabricated wall panels reduced thermal bridging while helping crews frame the exterior walls faster and with less jobsite waste than conventional stick framing. Most importantly, the SIP envelope helped the home achieve exceptional airtightness, with the final submission reporting a blower-door result of 0.87 ACH50.
The high-performance envelope works alongside a variable-speed heat pump, heat pump water heater and dryer, energy recovery ventilation, high-performance windows and a 12.15 kW rooftop solar system designed to offset most of the home’s annual energy use. Built by M.O.L.Y Homes as both a family residence and demonstration home, the project shows that high-performance construction can deliver comfort, healthy indoor air and extremely low energy use without sacrificing the look and feel of a custom home.
At a Glance
Project Details
| Location | Vienna, Virginia |
| Project Type | Residential, Custom Single-Family Home |
| Builder | M.O.L.Y Homes |
| Architect | Origin Design |
| Size | 4,955 sq. ft. conditioned space |
| SIP Application | Exterior walls (6 1/2" with 5 5/8" EPS core, R-24) |
| Completion | 2026 |
| SIP Benefits | Exceptional airtightness, reduced thermal bridging, faster wall framing, continuous insulated exterior walls, less jobsite waste, lower energy demand |
Why SIPs, Here
- ✓ A tighter building envelope means less energy used to heat and cool it, winter and summer alike.
- ✓ Panels arrive cut to spec and go up fast, so the home was closed in before the weather turned.
- ✓ Less energy used over the life of the home means less carbon produced, for this family and the next one who lives here.
Ready to talk through your project?
If you're planning a build and want to know what a SIP home will actually feel like for your family, in your climate, on your lot, we're glad to walk through it with you.