Natural Wonder

Red Tree Builders’ latest award-winning effort is a ‘Green Haven’ in more ways than one.

There’s nothing like starting things out right. Red Tree Builders-Alair Asheville’s Green Haven project in Asheville, N.C., could have been another run-of-the-mill residential housing development with a generic floorplan and average energy efficiency features. But Red Tree and the rest of the development team—architect Olivette Riverside Community and Farm, landscape architect Knight Strategies, designer RT Design, and structural engineer Dunn Structural Engineering—used a unique outdoor environment to create an even more unique home.

The all-electric home is part of the Olivette Riverside Community and Farm in Asheville’s first “agrihood”—a place with a working farm maintained by residents—and 1.5 miles of French Broad River frontage. Its inclusion as a winner in Green Builder’s 2025 Green Home of the Year awards makes it two honors in a row for Red Tree Builders. 

The 2,618-square-foot home includes three bedrooms, two full bathrooms, and two powder bathrooms. Certified Department of Energy (DOE) Zero Energy Ready, Indoor AirPlus, and ENERGY STAR, it exemplifies high-performance sustainability, according to Brandon Bryant, president and owner of Red Tree Builders-Alair Asheville.  

“This was the first custom home built among 20 lots in this neighborhood, so while we adhered to established guidelines for the riverfront community, the goal was to create a home that felt truly unique while blending seamlessly with its surroundings,” Bryant notes. “The real inspiration came from the peace and tranquility of the community overlooking the French Broad River, while also meeting the performance desires of our client. We designed the home to capture that serenity, crafting intentional moments on every level that reflect the homeowners’ lifestyle and enhance their connection to the natural beauty around them.”

The Smart Panel—a Wise Choice

Designed for energy efficiency and future adaptability, Green Haven’s infrastructure is entirely electric. Boasting a HERS score of minus 6, the home produces more energy than it consumes, courtesy of items such as geothermal heating and cooling and solar photovoltaics.

A battery storage system allows homeowners to bypass selling excess energy to the grid and instead opt to store power for electric car charging and emergency needs, ensuring resilience and self-sufficiency. 

Central to this achievement is the SPAN Panel, a smart electrical panel that allows a homeowner to control and monitor every circuit in the house via smartphone or tablet, and help them understand how the home is sourcing, storing and using energy in real time. 

Span Panels optimize power distribution, enabling the home’s heating, appliances, and operating systems to run on clean energy. The panels seamlessly integrate with solar power and battery backup. Also, the system prioritizes essential functions during outages, enhancing the home’s resilience and energy efficiency. 

This latter benefit proved very handy in late September 2024, just a couple months after Green Haven’s completion, when Hurricane Helene struck the area. While homes elsewhere suffered severe damage and were without power for days or weeks, Green Haven remained fully functional.

“The systems we implemented to make this home sustainable, durable, and resilient were put to the ultimate test—and they delivered,” Bryant says. “From the rain gardens to the solar panels with battery backup, every feature worked as intended.”

Sustainable Resources Outside and In

The exterior is clad in durable Thermory thermally modified wood, while large Renewal by Andersen windows provide ample natural light and passive solar heating. Expansive lift-slide doors and two-story decks foster an indoor-outdoor connection, offering views of the French Broad River. 

Inside, the open-concept kitchen, living, and dining areas feature white oak flooring and vaulted ceilings. Custom cabinetry, a large center island, and French doors leading to a hidden pantry elevate the kitchen, while the living room is anchored by a modern floor-to-ceiling fireplace with a water vapor display, serving as an innovative focal point. 

Other features include a Rheem heat pump water heater, Broan energy recovery ventilator (ERV) and bath fans, Broan’s Overture system for excellent indoor air quality and ventilation, and Energy Star-certified appliances.

Installation of vertical geothermal wells—which provide natural, money-saving indoor temperature control to the inside of the home—became a happy-ended construction lesson, according to Red Tree Project Manager Taylor Bennett.

“The installation process can release significant amounts of groundwater, and it was crucial to manage this onsite to prevent runoff into the French Broad River,” he says. “To address this, we utilized temporary detention ponds to capture groundwater and silt expelled during drilling. These ponds were then thoughtfully converted into a permanent rain garden for stormwater detention, combining environmental responsibility with lasting functionality.”