This stately and spacious 3,430-square-foot (including the basement) Woodland Ave home located in Pittsburgh’s Marshall-Shadeland neighborhood is now ready to serve a large family. As part of a complete gut renovation by Pittsburgh Housing Development Corporation, the home received all-new electrical, plumbing and mechanical systems, new roof, as well as new interior and exterior finishes.
The home’s energy efficiency was significantly improved through comprehensive insulation and meticulous air sealing. Special attention was given to reducing air leakage, including sealing the rim joists in the basement, sealing the top plates, carefully air-sealing around windows and doors, and wrapping the exterior with TRI-BUILT fanfold siding underlayment with all seams taped.
As a result, the home achieved an air leakage rate of 3,426 CFM50 (cubic feet per minute at 50 Pascals), equivalent to 6.7 ACH50 (air changes per hour at 50 Pascals) – one of the better results we have seen in rehabilitated homes. Windows have been upgraded to 3-pane, higher performance windows with U-factor of 0.2 and SHGC of 0.24.
The HVAC system includes a 96% AFUE Rheem Endeavor furnace paired with a Rheem RD16AY cold-climate heat pump rated at 17 SEER2 and 7.2 HSPF2(V). Together, these systems are capable of meeting the home’s heating load, as illustrated using NEEP tool:
While the heat pump is capable of supplementing the furnace and can operate efficiently at very low outdoor temperatures (down to approximately 5°F), E3 recommended limiting its use to outdoor temperatures above 36°F. Under this operating strategy, the heat pump will provide approximately 35% of the heating load for the first two floors, while the furnace supplies the remaining 65%, resulting in a more economical balance between operating cost and efficiency.
Home Energy Score changed from 1 to 3. While 3 is below PA average of 4, the score reflects a rather large size of the house. Like big trucks, bigger homes get worse “miles-per-gallon” energy ratings.
It is estimated that additional efforts for energy efficiency have reduced energy use by 30%. Congratulations to PHDC, and thank you for everyone’s effort to make this home more efficient.
A few photos from the construction time at this Marshall-Shadeland project:
