Live Green Live Smart - The Sustainable House: Remodel Type IV Gold

Live Green, Live Smart’s The Sustainable House TM is a participant in Minnesota GreenStar’s Remodeling pilot program and the LEED for Homes Pilot ProjectTM. Live Green, Live Smart has transformed an ordinary post-War rambler in a suburban neighborhood into a Century hour that will be energy efficient, environmentally healthy, respectful of the natural environment, and comfortable for family life as climate and energy resources alter in the coming decades.

Environmentally-Conscious Applications

The green building materials and techniques as applied to the House are less conspicuous than alternative energy sources, but no less important to our Platinum remodel.

Efficient insulation and an air transfer system ensure that none of the heat or cold generated goes to waste, and that the air inside the home stays clean and breathable.
Solatubes provide natural sunlight all day long, even in the basement, reducing electricity needs.
Every lightbulb in the house is an energy-efficient compact fluorescent or LED.
Low-voltage radiant in-floor heating is an efficient way to reduce furnace needs.
Greywater is collected from the showers for reuse in the double-flush toilets.
Windows are triple-glazed and argon-filled to reduce heat transfer.
Appliances are EnergyStar rated, and an induction stove is used for cooking.
All electrical energy purchased from the grid is the product of windfarming – no coal-fueled energy will be used in the House.

By Peter Lytle, Live Green Live Smart

The Sustainable House Before The Sustainable House Dining ROom