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This Old Victorian Home in Minneapolis Becomes Net Zero
On a beautiful October day, I had the privilege of sitting down with Stewart Herman to tour his home and learn more about what inspired Stewart and his wife, Linda, to take a century-old home and renovate it to become not only net-zero energy but net-positive—meaning they produce more energy than they consume.
Stewart and Linda Herman saw themselves as aging baby boomers who, when they retired from their teaching positions, wanted to find their “last house” in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They did not want to build a new home—they wanted the charm and beauty of an older home in the city—so a remodel was the only option for them.
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The Hermans have been very interested in the idea of “aging in place,” living in a home that is comfortable and livable, but designed with the future in mind: they might need to make it accessible for ramps, wheelchairs, etc. To meet their aging in place goals, stairways would need to be widened, and all doors would be at least 36” wide, to accommodate wheelchair access.
But to them, the future isn’t just about themselves and the possibility of failing bones and joints—it is about a healthier future for their grandchildren (and our world), which means limiting the burning of fossil fuels, reducing waste, conserving water, and managing stormwater onsite—to name just a few of the issues their home addresses through its design and renovation.
1. Insulating the house from the outside.
Typically, old homes are insulated by tearing out the interior walls and putting in fiberglass batts, or punching holes in the walls to fill with cellulose or other types of insulation. This home used the “PERSIST” (Pressure Equalized Rain Screen Insulated Structure Technique) insulating system, which involves insulating the house from outside. But because the walls were pushed out, they had to apply for a variance in the permitting process—which was eventually granted, but it did delay the project. The benefit of adding insulation on the outside was that no space was lost on the inside. (In theory, it would also mean that fine plaster walls could be preserved, but they needed to gut them for HVAC and plumbing access.) The result was highly insulated walls, rated at R-40.
3. Insulating the basement without tearing up the flowerbeds.
A tight house needs to keep heat in the basement from leaking out. Typically in remodels, basement walls are insulated on the inside (which would have lost square footage and would not have been very effective), or a deep wide trench is dug to insulate the foundation (which would have made a huge mess, and there was not much room on the lot to do so). This project used the “Cocoon” method of sucking out a four-inch-wide slice of dirt all the way down to the footings of the foundation, then inserting a one-inch foam sheet and 3 inches of sprayed foam. The net insulating effect is R-30, with very little mess to clean up. (See more about excavation-less insulation retrofits.)
Melissa Rappaport Schifman
Melissa became the Twin Cities’ fifth LEED for Homes Accredited Professional (LEED AP) and completed the work necessary to get her own home LEED Gold Certified, the basis for her book, Building a Sustainable Home: Practical Green Design Choices for Your Health, Wealth, and Soul, (Skyhorse Publishing, August, 2018). With her corporate experience in finance, marketing, and business development, and an MBA and Master’s in Public Policy from the University of Chicago, Melissa has been providing sustainability advisory services to businesses, governmental agencies and non-profits, focusing on strategic and operational change that provide bottom-line financial returns. She has led the LEED certification of two million square feet of commercial buildings, written GRI-compliant Corporate Sustainability Reports, is a LEED Pro Reviewer and LEED mentor with the U.S. Green Building Council. She is the founder of Green Intention LLC where she writes about sustainable home living.
