An upscale, finely crafted new home from Eco Building Group is one of the stops on this year’s Green Home and Technology Tour on May 16 during the NAHB National Green Building Conference in Raleigh, N.C.

While most people wouldn’t immediately recognize just how green and efficient this custom home is, they do note that it’s attractive and livable, points out Hank Wall, who owns Eco Building Group.

“I’m getting good reviews,” said Wall. With eight exterior doors, “there’s always a way to get outside, it’s very open to the outdoors. It’s a house for people who like nature. The house has great views.”

The home is located just 100 yards from a 5,600-acre state park popular with walkers, cyclists and hikers and thick with old trees. The trees extend into the home’s back yard, and Wall made sure to disturb as few of them as possible during construction, using 2-foot by 2-foot pier footings to support the wide back porches.

As a result, “it feels like a tree house in the back,” Wall said. “When you’re on the screened porch, 10 feet off the ground, and there are big beech trees just four or five feet away, well, it’s a different feel.”

The eventual owners will also enjoy a sleeping porch off the master bedroom that is sheltered by trees.

Wall’s home is packed with energy-, water- and resource-efficient features and was built with an eye to good ventilation and indoor air quality, as well.

The home was built with 2-by-6 framing that Wall filled with open-cell foam insulation, and its high-performance heating and cooling system helped achieve a HERS rating of 67, which is 33% more efficient than a home built to the prevailing energy code. “It’s like a house wearing a down coat,” he said.

The home also features Energy Star-rated appliances and dimmable LED lights, which use significantly less energy than comparable incandescent or compact fluorescent lights and last up to 17 years. The lights were locally sourced from Cree, an innovator in LED products “just eight miles up the road,” Wall pointed out.

The kitchen and bathroom faucets and dual-flush toilets are labeled by WaterSense, the Environmental Protection Agency’s new program to identify water-efficient fixtures. Two 550-gallon storage tanks nestled under the deck collect rainwater running off the back roof to be used as needed to water the drought-resistant landscaping. “It helps to be independent when there are drought restrictions on watering,” Wall noted.

Two tankless water heaters boost both water and energy efficiency, “one of the top 10 things you should do to build green,” he said. Traditional water heaters operate even when the occupants are not at home, needlessly wasting energy, Wall said. “There’s no hot water sitting unused in this house, but it’s an endless supply of hot water when you need it.” 

The bathroom countertops are made from remnant Zodiac quartz surfaces from DuPont, left over from previous countertop installations — an example of resource efficiency and another green feature. The white oak floors are from Tennessee, and the Pella wood entry doors are sourced from American walnut trees.

All paints, stains, varnishes and caulk used in the home are free of volatile organic compounds and potentially dangerous fumes. Wall saved and labeled the eco-friendly paint in case the home’s future owners need to do any touch-ups.

In a house as tight as the tour home, mechanical ventilation is a must, Wall said. An energy recovery ventilator in the HVAC system adds fresh air to the system when the fan automatically turns on every 20 minutes. The air is conditioned and filtered to remove allergens, as well. The Trane air filter is 100 times more efficient than a standard one-inch filter.

As part of the builder’s efforts to make sure that the home owners have an easy time living green, there is a recycling center in the garage.

All the green features add up to a Silver level green certification, which is remarkable for a house that doesn’t look different.

“This house has a familiar architectural feel to it so that the special features, the greenness, are not jumping out,” Wall said.

For more information, e-mail Calli Schmidt at NAHB, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8132.

Register Online for the Green Building Conference

To register online for the National Green Building Conference, visit www.nahb.org/greenbuildingconference. The registration deadline has been extended to Tuesday, May 11.

'National Green Building Standard’ Available at BuilderBooks.com

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'National Green Building Standard Commentary' Available at BuilderBooks.com

The "National Green Building Standard Commentary," available through BuilderBooks.com and a companion to the ANSI approved "National Green Building Standard," that provides valuable insight to the intention and implementations of the practices and provisions found in the green building standard.

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To view or purchase this publication online, click here, or call 800-223-2665.

More Than 5,000 People Have Earned Their CGP Designation

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 5,000 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.