they were given the opportunity to work on the Net Positive Craftsman house project , and also grateful to have received a 2020 Vermont ’ s Greenest Building Award for residential design . “ The owner of the property was interviewing multiple architectural before she hired us for the project ,” says Nancy . “ She had incredibly progressive ideals that directly aligned with ours , so it worked out perfectly . When we first started the project , we never thought that we would qualify for the Vermont ’ s Greenest Building Award , or that the Net Positive Craftsman house would turn out to be the most energy-efficient home in the state . During the evaluation process , the Vermont ’ s Greenest Building Award committee reviewed a year ’ s worth of electrical bills . They found that the home was actually creating more energy than it consumed , which speaks not only to the home ’ s design , but also the thoughtful energy use habits of its owner . The fact is , you can design a house to be perfectly energy-efficient , but the actual energy efficiency of the home is largely dependent on the people who inhabit it and their lifestyle choices .”
In addition to integrating energy-efficient engineering and design principles into the Net Positive Craftsman House , the Benoits also made use of sustainably-sourced materials in its construction . “ The cabinets , floors , and some of the sheathing used in the house were sourced from trees cut down on the property ,” says Alan . “ We try to use on-site or local materials whenever possible in all of my designs .” In line with The Benoits ’ preference for locally and sustainably-sourced materials , the dormers at the front of the house are covered with locally-sourced slate siding , and the exterior walls of the house are covered with cedar shake siding and tulip poplar tree bark siding made by Bark House in North Carolina . According to Alan , Bark House ’ s tree bark siding is the world ’ s first “ Cradle to Cradle ” platinum-certified product . “ In order for something to be designated a ‘ Cradle to Cradle ’ platinum-certified
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