Verani Realty announced the groundbreaking of what it claimed was NH’s “first net zero development” located at 75 Barretts Hill Road.
“It’s a 34-acre site. We took advantage of the state’s open space ordinance to put 17 acres in conservation,” said Sam Evans-Brown of Clean Energy NH, describing the hillside behind the main development as open space in a state of “permanent conservation.”
He went on to say that leaving open land would be “good for the wildlife, the hiking, the trails” in addition to residents’ pocketbooks.
“A lot our economic well-being right now stems from the fact that we essentially $200 per year on energy all in, and that provides a tremendous amount of certainty going forward,” said Brown.
The idea of any net zero project is to build homes that produce as much energy as they use, and every duplex unit will include rooftop solar panels.
Many of the net zero benefits will come in the form of energy savings through energy-efficient construction, something Keach-Nordstrom Engineer, Pete Madsen, called a “passive house” approach. Passive house combines on-site electricity generation with better insulation materials to minimize energy loss to limit reliance on the power grid. The new buildings will take factors like window placement and airflow into account. Somewhat unusually, the homes will include no gas hookups, relying on induction stoves and heat pumps instead.
In total, construction will include 26 duplex homes, which were seen as more affordable than single-family homes by the developer. Barrett Hill is considered a “market rate” project, built with direct subsidies.
“We have completed over 100 new builds with John and Elkridge Construction LLC in Southern NH,” claimed Gail Nickerson, manager of the Verani New Homes Division, in a press release from the company. “We are excited to be joining forces to bring this Net Zero product and community to Southern NH through Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Verani Realty New Homes Division.”
The developer claimed that success would serve to expand employment opportunities and training for the construction of other net zero projects.
Planning Board endorsed the development last May, following an April site walk. The Board also called for a traffic study after several abutters expressed concerns the project would aggravate already problematic traffic on Barretts Hill Road. Ultimately, the issue did not prove to be a significant barrier to construction.
Being touted as NH’s first net zero development on the market, the groundbreaking ceremony drew a large crowd, including Senator, Jeanne Shaheen.
“These new energy-efficient units will help address our state’s housing shortage while saving homeowners money on their utility bills for years to come,” Shaheen said in support of the development on her website.
She hoped for success from the development and to see net zero projects like Barrett Hill across the state.
