Multiple Choice Density

'The Cove at Asbury Park’ is K. Hovnanian’s latest grand venture into sustainable building. 

Content courtesy of the U.S. Department of Energy. Edited by Green Builder staff.

A winner keeps winning: The latest project by K. Hovnanian’s Northeast Division, the “Cove at Asbury Park” in Asbury, New Jersey, won a Housing Innovation Award (HIA) in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s 2023 annual competition. Asbury Park also gave the company more than 650 homes that are certified to DOE’s Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) program standards, placing it sixth on the agency’s list of most Zero Energy Ready certified homes—which resulted in an HIA for most homes certified in one year.

K. Hovnanian Northeast Division constructed a 48-unit building in Asbury Park, New Jersey, to the high-performance criteria of the DOE Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) program—complete with energy saving, air quality improving and environmental control elements.

The Cove at Asbury Park is a multifamily community of 48 four-story townhomes consisting of two models that range in size from 1,765 square feet to 2,916 square feet with 3 or 4 bedrooms, 3.5 or 4 baths, rooftop decks, and one-car garages with electric vehicle (EV) chargers.

The Cove exterior’s mix of multi-grey-toned cantilevered boxes and shingle siding gives the four-story building a modern-meets-coastal vibe. But it’s what’s “behind the walls” that helped the project win a DOE HIA. The building, like every home certified through the DOE Zero Energy Ready program, met the criteria of ENERGY STAR Certified Homes Version 3.1 and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Indoor airPLUS program.

Builders must also meet other efficiency requirements such as the hot water distribution requirements of the EPA’s WaterSense program; the insulation requirements of the 2015 International Energy Conservation Code; HVAC and water heating efficiencies; third-party verified air sealing targets; installation of Energy Star appliances, windows, and lighting; and ducts in conditioned space. These requirements should help homeowners achieve average annual energy savings of $1,900 per home compared to similar town homes built to just meet code.

A New Type of Model Home

K. Hovnanian uses building integrated modeling to design its projects. The 3D modeled designs are provided to the builder’s mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) designers to help in laying out MEP system for the homes.

For this construction, the builder chose a slab-on-grade foundation that is insulated with two inches (R-10) of rigid foam on the slab edge perimeter extending down 24 inches, and 1 inch (R-5) of rigid foam extending 24 inches horizontally under the slab edge.

The walls use 2-by-6 wood-stud framing spaced with 24-inch on-center stud spacing for most walls, and 16-inch on-center spacing in some wall sections. The walls are filled with R-19 of fiberglass batt insulation.

Advanced framing techniques were used, such as 3-stud insulated corners and open, insulated headers to reduce the amount of framing and increase the amount of space for insulation in the walls.

The truss roof includes gabled and flat sections. The unvented attic was filled with up to 18 inches (R-38 to R-63) of blown in cellulose. Raised-heel trusses allowed 10.125 inches of insulation over the top plates. The 0.5-inch OSB deck sheathing was covered by 15# roof felt and 30-year dimensional asphalt shingles on the sloped roofs and PVC membrane over the flat roofs.

This project featured large rooftop decks above the living space for each unit. This presented a challenge to provide the proper amount of insulation while eliminating the need to vent the attic space due to structural constraints.

Joe Lstiburek of Building Science Corporation helped design an unvented hybrid roof assembly that met the insulation requirements of the energy code while controlling the amount of moisture that can condense beneath the deck.

The flat roofs consisted of a coated OSB sheathing with seams taped, R-20 of rigid XPS, 0.75-inch plywood, then PVC membrane and the flooring of the rooftop decks.

Careful detailing and installation of the self-adhered PVC membrane air barrier and strict adherence to the ratio of rigid insulation to the total R-value of the assembly created an attic/roof design that minimized the risk of accumulation of condensation, eliminating the need to vent the attics.

Efficient Energy Star-labeled double-pane windows with insulation values of U–0.24 and solar heat gain coefficients of 0.29 help block out summer sun while keeping in winter heat. The windows included some airtight casement-style ones, but most were fixed-glass with tempered glass outer panes to protect against coastal storms.

The Cove at Asbury Park features ENERGY STAR-rated appliances, lighting and ceiling fans for energy savings.

Seals and Barriers

K. Hovnanian conducts extensive air sealing practices to create a continuous air barrier or “pressure boundary” around the building and each unit in it, consisting of taping or sealing all the wood-to-wood seams and penetrations through floors, walls, and ceilings to prevent air movement in or out of the home.

Specific strategies include applying caulk or foam at foundation sill plates; wall sill plates; band and rim joists; exterior wall and band or rim joist corners; around doors, windows, wiring, pipes, and vents; at any dropped ceilings; and any ceiling penetrations to the attic.

Fire-rated sealants are installed on any electrical, plumbing, or HVAC penetrations through wall plates or vertical chases; at fireplace chases, and at cantilevered floors.

Additional air sealing steps include air sealing at wall-floor joints; the garage-house walls; exposed joist areas; electrical box cutouts in walls and ceilings; and around fireplaces, plumbing pipes, A/C lines, dryer exhaust vents, junction boxes, gas lines, outside plumbing lines, and fire sprinkler heads. K. Hovnanian employs a subcontractor whose main job is to perform this air sealing.

As with all homes certified to the DOE ZERH criteria, K. Hovnanian’s homes are blower door tested for whole-house air tightness by a third-party energy rater. If the home or building does not meet the specified air tightness requirement, the contractor must correct the problem and pay for the cost of retesting.

To provide fresh air, each townhome is equipped with a controlled central fan with fresh air intake and timered exhaust for balanced whole-home ventilation. The outdoor air duct brings fresh air to the return side of the central high-efficiency 96 AFUE gas furnace which uses a compact zoned duct system to provide heating to the first three floors. The fourth floor of each unit is equipped with a ductless mini-split heat pump which provides high efficiency heating and cooling.

More Rules to Follow

In addition to this code-compliant ventilation, the building is designed to meet all requirements of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Indoor airPLUS program.

The builder installs Energy Star-rated appliances, lighting, and ceiling fans for energy savings. A centrally located efficient tankless water heater, compact plumbing layout, and EPA WaterSense-rated plumbing fixtures add to hot water and energy savings.

To be able to offer home buyers a cost-effective product while maintaining quality, K. Hovnanian has standardized many construction details. “This minimizes wasted materials and allows our trade partners to execute consistency in their respective contributions,” says Sean Neumann, vice president of operations for K. Hovnanian’s Northeast Division. “Maintaining a close relationship with our energy rater ensures that our homes are computer modeled according to the DOE Zero Energy Ready program requirements during the design phase and are tested prior to occupancy to ensure that each home matches or exceeds the performance expectations of the DOE program.”

By identifying the features and styles that most people want in their new home and offering just those options, K. Hovnanian simplified the development of new home plans from the design process to the sale of the home.

“Reducing the multitude of options we’ve historically offered has greatly increased the simplicity and replicability of our production process,” Neumann says. “Buyers see the features they want and are not bombarded with a myriad of choices. Our trade partners can offer higher quality construction since the homes feature details that can be consistently executed and delivered.”

Training and technical expertise have also been hallmarks of K. Hovnanian’s efforts to ensure consistent quality in their single- and multifamily homes. K. Hovnanian has partnered with DOE Building America researchers, including Joe Lstiburek of Building Science Corporation and IBACOS, as well as the New Jersey Builders Association, for training and technical guidance.

“We have comprehensive construction documents and a thorough shop drawing review process of various components of the home,” Neumann says. “Our plans incorporate many IBACOS-developed or reviewed details. We also have a complete constructability review by a third-party engineer. That same third-party engineer is then contracted to perform six inspections throughout the build process, documenting nonconforming items. Non-conforming items must be appropriately closed out with photo-documentation following the repair.”

Additionally, K. Hovnanian uses internal quality associates who conduct their own inspections throughout the build process, including a framing inspection, drainage plane inspection, scratch coat inspection, and quality standards inspection prior to homeowner orientation.

The builder conducts monthly targeted training sessions for their internal associates, on topics such as HVAC or moisture management. They also conduct an in-house 18-month extensive classroom and field-based training program for their newer Associates, and they conduct various safety and technical training sessions for their subcontractors. “Our safety meetings are held once a week,” says Neumann. “Our technical trainings are less frequent but are typically geared towards a specific trade and target construction practices such as buried ducts and truss bracing.”