Is Your Home Healthy?

March 18, 2019

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Text by Kaitlin Madden Photography by James R. Salomon, Matt Delphenich, Casey Dunn, Chris Cooper

Modern living with high, wood-beamed ceilings, floor-to-ceiling windows and a gas fireplace clad in stone.

This modern home features natural materials such as heavy douglas fir glulam timbers, long span beams and white oak flooring The home is built to Passive House standards complete with triple glazed windows, air source heat pump, Bensonwood’s OBPlus walls and an energy recovery ventilator for high indoor air quality. Photo by James. R. Salomon. Design|Build: Bensonwood.

A view of a living area featuring a dining room table in dark wood, a natural-colored couch, a fireplace and a wood-beamed ceiling.

Passive House design strategies create a sense of calm from the moment you step through the front door of this contemporary cape style timber frame home. Photo by James R. Salomon. Design|Build: Bensonwood.

Another living area with a dining table, a kitchen featuring a wine refrigerator and a gray bar with three bar stools, and a couch. There is a row of decorative fruit on the table and arched, wood-beamed ceilings.

Even large spaces feel comfortable when Passive House design strategies are employed. This stained Douglas Fir timber frame is airy but still feels cozy. Photo by James R. Salomon. Design|Build: Bensonwood.

Master bathrooms with dark-wood vanity, large, white, stand-alone bathtub, and a glass shower. There are three wood-framed windows in the room, letting in plenty of natural light.

Natural lighting and materials in this master bath create a timeless sanctuary. Photo by James R. Salomon. Design|Build: Bensonwood.

A blonde-wood staircase with a blurred person walking down the stairs. To the right of the staircase is a book shelf filled with books.

A healthy home supports a healthy lifestyle. Photo by Chris Cooper. Architect: Lake|Flato. Build: Bensonwood.

An open kitchen with a cook standing at the counter. The cabinets are white and the countertop is gray. There are three gray barstools at the counter and seven white pendant lights hanging from the ceiling.

The kitchen in this Texas home has a relaxed modern atmosphere through the use of natural and reclaimed materials, ample lighting, and a prefab shell with passive house standards. Photo by Casey Dunn. Architect: Aamodt/Plumb. Builder: Risinger Build. Engineer/Prefab Shell: Bensonwood.

Kitchen with wood cabinets in a gray tone. The counters are white and gray marble. There's a blurry person walking through the photo. Two metal pendant lights hang above the counter.

Indoor air quality has a direct relationship to occupant health. Photo by James R. Salomon. Design|Build: Bensonwood.

Living area of a cabin with wood-planked floors and a wood-planked ceiling. Floor-to-ceiling windows reveal a view of the surrounding mountains and trees.

By constructing the building components off-site, this off-the-grid cabin created little construction waste and had a minimal impact on the surrounding natural environment. Photo by Matt Delphenich. Architect: I-Kanda Architects. Builder: Bensonwood.

Here’s how one New Hampshire company is ensuring the answer is a resounding “yes”—for both inhabitants and the environment.

If you ask a home buyer to describe the “feel” of their dream home, there’s a good chance they’ll launch into details about the design concept: the colors, the style, the flow. But, to the team at Bensonwood—a Walpole, N.H.-based builder of sustainable prefab homes—the true feel of a home is something far more tangible.

The company’s mission is to improve people’s lives through processes and products. This is exemplified by building homes that feel markedly more comfortable than standard-construction spaces by prioritizing things like indoor air quality and noise reduction—to the point that homeowners notice the difference the moment they step through the front door.

“Our clients can actually feel the difference in the materials that we use while they are in their home or one of our show homes,” says Alison Keay, a lead energy and sustainability specialist at Bensonwood. “You can immediately sense it being in the homes: the air is fresh, it’s very neutral and there are no chemical smells. The spaces are also very comfortable in that there aren’t large drafts, or stratification, and the outside noises are buffered, so it’s very quiet inside the houses.”

Bensonwood’s commitment to quality and attention to detail play out in the day-to-day experience of one of their homes. The tile in the bathroom never feels cold underfoot, because temperatures are controlled so precisely. Natural finishes applied to millwork never feel like plastic under hand, and, over time, acquire a luster and patina that enhances the beauty of the wood.

The only air that does make it into the home is indeed meant to be there. And it, too, contributes to the overall well-being of the home and its inhabitants. Bensonwood’s standard ventilation designs use balanced ventilation with energy recovery. This simultaneously brings in fresh air while expelling stale air. At the same time, the energy recovery process tempers the incoming air, lowering both energy consumption and heating costs.

The sum of these conscious efforts is a home that’s more comfortable, not just physically, but also psychologically. Studies have shown that occupants experience improved health outcomes, such as reduced allergies and illnesses. Occupants can rest easy knowing their air is pure, and their home is doing its part to minimize detrimental planetary impacts. It’s reminiscent of a perfectly placed Winston Churchill quote on a beam in the company’s headquarters that reads, “We shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us.”

Bensonwood, Walpole, N.H.

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