Racine LEED home shows Modern Minimalism is Green

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certified another LEED Platinum home in Wisconsin that features a picture-perfect location on Lake Michigan’s west shore in Racine, Wisconsin. The Scekic-Osborne home is a three-bedroom, 1900 square foot home — an example of the recent trend of home sizes retreating to more reasonable levels rather than the McMansions of yesteryear. The home, designed by Johnsen Schmaling Architects of Milwaukee, mixes modern architecture with a growing design trend known as “micro architecture,” which places a premium on petiteness, design and sustainability.

Download Scekic-Osborne Residence Profile

The home’s modern exterior features Read more

Bridge St Place. LEED Platinum

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The land and building was purchased from the Diocese of Grand Rapids. The building was renovated into approximately 16 efficiency apartments with individual bathrooms and kitchenettes for homeless survivors of domestic violence. The name for the project is Bridge Street Place. It is permanent supportive housing project, serving single persons at 60% AMI The project has 16 project based housing vouchers provided by the Supportive Housing Division of MSHDA. Referrals and support services are provided by the YWCA West Central Michigan.

The building was renovated from a high content of recycled and reused materials, products that are within a 500 mile radius of the project site, rainwater falling on the roof is harvested to irrigate the landscape, plant materials are drought resistant and the irrigation system is high efficiency. All plumbing fixtures have water conserving fixtures, kitchen appliances are energy star rated, light bulbs are compact fluorescent, roof and patio

materials are highly reflective and reduce urban island effect. The building envelope has been improved, reducing on-going energy
consumption through reduced air infiltration.

Rockford Construction –
General contractors and construction
managers building new and restoring
old projects across 41 States.
Dwelling Place – is all about providing
affordable housing, supportive
services and revitalizing
neighborhoods.
Financed with low income housing tax
credit equity.

View & Download LEED for Homes Project Profile

Fietler Residence LEED Gold Home

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This home which includes a 700-square-foot garage with radiant heat, uses a 6-zone geothermal radiant heating and
cooling system. Ninety-five percent of the lighting is LED. The insulation is wood-fiber cellulose and recycled materials. There is no carpet; all the floors are hardwoods, ceramic tile and linoleum. Automated clearstory windows for whole-house ventilation All the paints on the walls and adhesives used with the flooring meet LEED’s standards for low volatile organic compound emissions. It just missed being the first single-family home in northeast Indiana for LEED certification.

The exterior of the home was constructed using commercial grade metal siding and standing seam roof. The home was
designed for a 4 kilowatt photovoltaic system to harness year around southern sun exposure. With the use of these
technologies, the home will have the potential to be “off-thegrid” and be able to operate completely independently of all traditional public utility services. Recycled, re used and locally
harvested wood.

“It will stand up to an F4 tornado,” Thornsbury said.

Download / View online Project Profile Here.

Helenowski Net Zero home in Chicago

Helenowski LEED Platinum Gut Rehab showcases urban zero energy

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Chicago’s Yannell residence has gained a lot of notoriety as the first “net-zero” home in the city – capable of producing as much energy as it consumes. Yet another home on Chicago’s far northwest side, the Helenowski Residence, has joined the prestigious ranks of ultra-green LEED Platinum homes. In fact, it’s one of the highest overall point totals ever achieved for a LEED-certified home.

Helenowski Residence - Chicago Net-Zero LEED Platinum Home

Net-Zero LEED Platinum Home – Zukas Photography

This incredibly energy-efficient home was actually a gut-rehab of Helenowski Residence Scorecard a 1950’s brick split-level home, with a major addition, resulting in 3,300 total square feet. The owner has done an incredible amount of work focusing on the Materials and Resources as well as Energy and Atmosphere areas of the home. Some of the sample strategies include:

  • All drywall was recycled-content (for a $1 per sheet premium)
  • Salvaged douglas fir from 1800’s fire-damaged building for ceiling
  • Reuse or salvage for all new interior framing members
  • Diversion of +90% construction debris
  • Reclaimed copper for roofing and gutters
The home also has some exemplary energy characteristics that helped achieve a remarkable HERS score of 13, meaning the home uses 87% less energy than a new home built to code.
The remarkable energy performance was achieved by using soy-based spray foam insulation and a meticulous attention to air sealing in the project. The technical data is quite impressive. The blower door testing gave a result of 604 CFM at 50 Pascals.  With an estimated volume of 37,725 cubic feet of volume in the house, the air changes per hour at 50 Pa was 1.02, and the air changes per hour at natural pressure is .07. In other words, the home is very tight.
Other strategies contributing to the home’s energy performance include:
  • Triple-paned Pella windows with FSC-certified lumber.
  • Geothermal ground source heat pump for HVAC.
  • Solar photovoltaic panels and a vertical-axis wind turbine to generate electricity.
  • Motorized blinds control solar heat gain on west-facing (front) windows.
  • Extremely efficient cold-cathode lighting, up to six times more efficient than LEDs.
  • Roof is partially reflective white and part vegetative green roof.
The is truly a remarkable addition to the Chicago area’s growing green building inventory and offers many lessons for other builders in the area.  Detailed strategies with photos are available at the project’s web site, www.leedhomeliving.com, as well as by downloading the 1-page PDF Helenowski Project Profile that has assembled.
Download the 1-page PDF Helenowski Project Profile

Greenbuild Legacy Project uses LEED for Homes

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The Greenbuild Legacy project is using one of USGBC’s latest additions to the LEED product line-up.  This overview is for those of you not familiar with the LEED for Homes program.

In January of 2008, LEED for Homes officially became an active rating system for the residential market. Its introduction offered an opportunity for single family, multi-family, and low-rise housing to be considered for LEED certification. At this time, only new construction and major gut-rehab projects are eligible for the program.

Since its introduction, over 25,000 homes have registered and 6,300 have been certified. This compares to about 20,000 registered and 5,000 certified projects for all of the other commercial LEED products combined. Read more

Greenbuild Early Registration Deadline 9/17

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For discounted rates to the Greenbuild 2010 Conference and Expo, you must Register by Sept. 17, and take advantage of the 1-day Residential Summit for just $250 ($300 after Sept. 17).
Greenbuild 2010 Residential Summit

Greenbuild: Residential Summit and More!

The third annual Residential Summit – Thursday, Nov. 18 – headlines Read more

Healthy Home 2010 to Max out IEQ Points

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A LEED home in Palatine offers exemplary design details, intending to max out the Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) section of the LEED for Homes rating system.

In a groundbreaking partnership with industry leaders in green design, Healthy Child Healthy World plans to create a real-life, interactive, educational model for healthier living. Healthy Home 2010: Designer Showcase & Tour will be a cutting-edge initiative that will raise the bar on sustainable design by focusing on healthier indoor environments. The home will be open to the public when completed in September and available for tours from September 25, 2010 through October 10, 2010.
Healthy Home 20110 LEED house in Palatine, IL Read more

Net-Zero Affordable Homes Come to Illinois

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32 three-bedroom homes to lease for $590/month in Jerseyville, IL
Solar panels, wind turbines to cut utility bill to $0; LEED Platinum preliminary rating

The long-awaited promise of affordable, net-zero, green living will finally become reality in a St. Louis suburban cornfield in southern Illinois, where 32 single-family homes will be rented for $590 per month. Solar panels, wind turbines and other technology will reduce the utility bills to $0. The homes are expected to be LEED Platinum certified at completion, with as the LEED for Homes Provider.

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