Little Residence Pearl Platinum Aiming for GreenStar – Zero Carbon

Brett Little, Program Manager at the GreenHome Institute, which operates out of home, decided to ensure GHI was also green as they help others.  Brett took his 2003 1-story walkout basement home in West Michigan to work towards achieving GreenStar Homes Certification & GHI Zero Carbon Certification.  The project received Pearl Platinum, is all-electric, and received a DOE Home Energy Score 10 out of 10.

Most importantly, Brett wanted to showcase how he used a traditional mortgage refinance to pay for sure this, paving the way for millions to be able to do the same through construction financing, mortgage refinancing, and/or home equity lines of credit.

Brett increased his monthly mortgage by $40 a month but will reduce utilities on average $50 a month to offset the cost and increase home value by 3%.

Added Home Features include

• Heatpump Water Heater  – Rheem Prestige added in 2018
• Ducted Air Source Heatpump for heating and cooling – Mitsubishi 2.5 ton
• Sealed exposed ducts with mastic
• Panasonic Intellibalance Cold Climate Energy Recovery Ventilator ERV – Ducted into exiting Ductwork.
• 3.96 kW of South Facing Solar Panels on the roof
• Whole Home 5kW Battery
• Level 2 Car Charger with recycled electric line
• Active Radon System
• 2 Energy Star Panasonic Whisper Green Bath fans up to 110 CFM ducted outside
• Whole-home ducted Aprilaire Humidifier
• Standalone whole home Aprilaire Dehumidier
• Ducted quiet rangehood with five settings
• Cosmos Smart Ventilation System (retired but works)
• Multiple air quality sensors that detect VOCs, CO2, and PM2.5 include Awair and Sun Radon
• Condensing all electric Dryer
• Quiet Energy Star Dishwasher
• Energy Star Clothes Washer
• Water sense certified low devices
  • .5 GPM Niagara Aerators
  • 1.8 GPM Sink Faucet
  • 1.25 GPM Niagara Earth Massagers showerhead
  • .8 GPF Niagara Stealth Toilet
  • Dual Flush .9/.5 GPF Niagara Nano Toilet
• Water leak detector and smart meter
• On-demand water softener nonelectrical
• UV Water filter
• 5 Micron water pre-filter
• Undersink on-demand reverse osmosis system nonelectrical
• Sealed off old air intakes and chimney
• MERV 13 ERV Filter and MERV 16 Furnace Filter
• Motion sensors throughout the home with majority LED lighting
• Turn off the switch for the outdoor streetlight
• Water heater pipe wrap
• New fire detectors with CO detectors added throughout
• Exterior Door Sealants
• Motion sensor nightlights added
• Planted some drought-tolerant adaptive plants
• Added 5 hooglekulture raised beds
• Added 5 fruit trees
• Henhouse and 2 hens
• Floodfactor Report 1 /10 no risk
• Well Draining Sandy Soils

More details, stories, and videos are being added, and operational energy, water, and quality updates are being added, so be sure to check back!