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!
