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Connecticut Home Showcases Value of Green Building
The Builders Association of Eastern Connecticut is offering tours of a showcase home one Saturday each month to educate local home buyers about the benefits of green building — and the value of the National Green Building Standard.
Builder and NAHB Research Center-accredited verifier Peter Fusaro was recently completing the certification paperwork for the home, which he expected would reach the ultra-green Emerald level of the standard when it finishes the National Green Building Certification process.
If successful, the single-family home will be only the second project in the nation to achieve that level.
Built by Certified Green Professional Jim Pepitone of Ark Ventures, the show home is located at The Homes at Greenbrier, a 14-lot subdivision in Montville that includes a 12-acre wildlife habitat refuge and that also achieved green certification under the standard, which can be used to score communities as well as new homes and remodeling projects.
To reach the Emerald level, a new home must be at least 60% more energy-efficient than a home built under the 2006 International Residential Code and achieve similarly stringent benchmarks in water and resource efficiency, indoor environmental quality, site development and home-owner education materials.
The show home is extremely well insulated, with an R-60 roof, R-40 walls and an R-20 basement with two inches of foam under the slab. A dual-fuel, 18-SEER hybrid air source heat pump for heating and cooling is rated at 98% efficiency and right-sized to take into account the home’s insulation and low-E, Krypton-gas-filled, triple-glazed windows.
The windows, as well as the doors and appliances, are Energy Star-rated. The tankless water heater is located next to the kitchen in the powder room and right below the upstairs baths so less heat is lost as the water goes through the pipes, and the recycled garage doors are filled with foam insulation.
The home is also prewired for installation of photovoltaic panels — and with a HERS rating expected to be very low, the panels are likely to make it close to a zero-energy home if they are installed, Fusaro said.
Built largely with products donated by HBA associate members, the home is serving as an educational tool for builders and for buyers, Fusaro said. The HBA is planning an extensive radio campaign to draw consumers to the open house.
“We need these sorts of projects so home buyers can actually see green building, not just read about it,” he said.
For more information, e-mail Calli Schmidt at NAHB, or call her at 800-368-8132.
 ‘National Green Building Standard’ Available at BuilderBooks.com
“The National Green Building Standard,” available through BuilderBooks.com, provides “green” practices that can be incorporated into multifamily and single-family new home construction, home remodeling and additions and site development.
The standard covers lot design, resource, energy and water efficiency; indoor environment quality; and owner education.
Currently the first and only ANSI-approved green building rating system, the National Green Building Standard is the benchmark for green homes.
To view or purchase this publication online, click here.
 The Future of Residential Construction Is Green
The Certified Green Professional (CGP) designation teaches builders, remodelers and other industry professionals techniques for incorporating green building principles into homes using cost-effective and affordable options.
Earning the CGP demonstrates to clients and peers your commitment to the best and latest in green building practices and techniques. More than 4,000 people have earned the CGP designation to date.
For more information, visit www.nahb.org/CGPinfo.
 ‘Build Green and Save’ Available at BuilderBooks.com
“Build Green and Save: Protecting the Earth and Your Bottom Line,” available through BuilderBooks.com, is a comprehensive, easy-to-read reference that shows builders how to identify and select green building materials; implement green construction techniques; explain the benefits of green housing and offer affordable green building solutions to consumers; and use resources wisely and reduce water and energy consumption.
To view or purchase this publication online, click here, or call 800-223-2665.
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