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Pilgrimage worthy.
The 6,000 square foot Southface Energy Institute in Atlanta, G.A., is a state-of-the-art demonstration, education and research center and the mastermind behind EarthCraft House™.
No wonder the Pimsler Hoss Architects, Inc. project won an AIA Design Award for Sustainable Design.
Photo courtesy of Randy E. Pimsler, AIA |
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Look for the signs.
Besides being 'sited' to take advantage of the sun,
green homes will be ENERGY STAR®-approved and HealthyBuilt-certified.
Majestic Estate Builders LLC crafted this model at The Views of Asheville.
Photo courtesy of Majestic Estate Builders LLC,The Views, Asheville NC |
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A bright idea.
Green can be beautiful, and luxurious too, like this 3,600 square foot EarthCraft-certified home in Palmetto Bluff near Bluffton, S.C. In a traditional Lowcountry home these magnificent windows would offer little insulation. However, when homes incorporate low-emissivity
windows, which
deter the
transference of
heat, you can
let the sun
shine in.
Photo courtesy of Palmetto Bluff, photographer Greg Smith |
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The U.S. Green Building
Council’s (USGBC)
Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design
Rating System (commonly
known as LEED) is
perhaps the most widely
recognized standard for
building green in the
country. Until recently,
the USGBC only defined
standards for commercial
buildings. Now, however,
a new LEED for Homes
pilot program is
currently under
development and will
publicly launch in 2007.
A home can qualify for
one of four levels of
certification
(Certified, Silver, Gold
or Platinum) based on a
points system. The more
green the home, the more
points it earns. For
more information, visit:
www.usgbc.org
EarthCraft House™, a
well-established
residential green home
rating system, actually
served as the model for
the new LEED for Homes
program. Developed by
the Southface Energy
Institute and the
Greater Atlanta Home
Builders Association,
EarthCraft educates both
homeowners and the
residential homebuilding
industry on
environmentally
responsible practices.
In the Carolinas
EarthCraft is
increasingly becoming an
industry standard. For more information, visit:
www.earthcrafthouse.com
In addition to
rating the efficiency of
individual appliances
and products, ENERGY
STAR® also affixes its
blue star of approval on
homes that meet energy
efficiency guidelines
defined by the U.S.
Environmental Protection
Agency. ENERGY STAR®
accreditation signifies
at least a 15 percent
improvement in energy
efficiency over the
current energy code, and
homes are often rated by
ENERGY STAR® in
conjunction with other
forms of certification.
Such homes provide $200
to $400 in annual
savings. For more
information, visit:
www.energystar.gov
Across the country there
are numerous
regionalized green
building certification
programs offered by
organizations or even
communities. One
prominent example in the
Carolinas is the North
Carolina HealthyBuilt
Homes Program. NC
HealthyBuilt Homes
primarily works with
small- to medium-sized
builders across North
Carolina, offering
certification similar to
the national programs.
For more information, visit:
http://healthybuilthomes.org
The National Association
of Home Builders
launched a new green
building certification
program in 2008. The
NAHB Model Green Home
Building Guidelines
include three levels of
certification – Bronze,
Silver, and Gold – and
The National Green
Building Standard™
includes an additional
level, Emerald. For more
information, visit:
www.nahbgreen.org
A program designed by
Masco Contractor
Services, a leading
insulation contractor
and producer of home
building products, that
treats a home as a
“system of systems” that
work together. The
Environments For Living®
Certified Green program
includes additional
requirements in areas
such as indoor air
quality and lighting and
water efficiency. Every
Environments For Living
program home is backed
by Limited Guarantees
for Heating & Cooling
Energy Use and Comfort.
For more information,
visit:
www.environmentsforliving.com
As a joint venture
between General Electric
(GE) and Masco
Contractor Services,
this program combines an
Environments for Living
Certified Green
classification with
additional green
features and
energy-efficient GE
products. ecomagination
Homes are designed to
achieve at least 20%
household energy, indoor
water, and household
emissions (CO2, SO2, and
Nox) savings. For more
information, visit:
http://ge.ecomagination.com
To officially receive
one of the above green
certifications, homes
must first pass
inspections by certified
inspectors. These
inspections typically
carry a fee that varies
by the program, size of
the home, rating level
pursued and additional
factors. However, this
is a valuable assurance
for the homeowner that
their home is as
high-performance as was
planned and many
builders appreciate the
double check.
Many homeowners
appreciate these
extensive certification
programs for the extra
quality assurance they
provide. "There is a
degree of comfort in
knowing how stringent
the tests were," shares
Bob Sadler, as he
recalls the EnergyStar
certification process
for his new home on
Dataw Island. Mr. Sadler
and his wife, Nan, first
discovered Dataw Island
by boat, when they
stopped to visit friends
during a trip down the
Eastern Seaboard towards
Florida. Now they are
choosing to leave
Pennsylvania and its
cold winters for a more
temperate climate in the
South Carolina
Lowcountry. The superior
energy efficiency of
their new home, which
overlooks two fairways,
is an added jewel.
"I was there when they
ran the tests,"
remembers Mr. Sadler,
"and watched as they
found some things that
were a problem and fixed
them on the spot. They
checked everything from
the flue in the chimney
to every window." With
this accuracy, the
Sadler's home will be at
least 20-30 percent more
efficient than a
traditional home its
size. For further
protection, they opted
for upgrades such as
3M™ Window Films that
not only offer
protection from UV light
and solar energy, but
also help to protect the
window from wind gusts
up to 130 mph, which
offers a little extra
peace of mind in this
coastal home.
Many of these
suggestions came from
the Sadler's builder,
Dataw Island Properties,
an Energy Star® and
EarthCraft-certified
builder. For the Sadlers,
who were out of state
during most of the
construction, the
ability to trust their
builder was of utmost
importance. Their
beautiful home is a
testament to the great
teamwork between
everyone involved.
back to beginning of this page
About the Author
Kristen
F. Anthony has worked in magazines, newspapers, marketing and corporate communications. She has contributed to a variety of projects, from an award-winning newspaper special section on veterans to the 2006 Southern Living-Progressive Farmer Idea House. Now a resident of Columbia, S.C., Kristen earned her BA in Communications Studies from Furman University in Greenville, S.C.
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