solar hot water - GreenHome Institute

A Glencoe, IL home has just been awarded a Platinum rating by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) LEED for Homes program, the highest level possible. The house is only the second new-construction LEED Platinum home in the State of Illinois and the first LEED Platinum home on the North Shore. View the LEED Project Snapshot

The Washington Avenue home was designed by Nathan Kipnis, AIA of Kipnis Architecture + Planning of Evanston and built by Scott Simpson Builders of Northbrook. Owners Barry and Natalie Slotnick moved into the house in April of 2011 with their two young children.

This home is unique in its commitment to staying within the aesthetic of the surrounding community while implementing a wide range of green goals. It’s one of the few LEED homes to take a non-modernist approach to its exterior, as well as being informed by traditional low-impact building philosophies. The home is classic in its style, form and proportions, yet modern in its use of materials, colors and systems. Green features include passive, natural ventilation; passive solar heating and cooling; water-efficient indoor plumbing fixtures including a waterless urinal; low and no-VOC finishes and fixtures; standing seam metal roofing; cement fiberboard siding; and prefabricated framing.

Architect Kipnis states, “The house was built for 40% of the cost of the first LEED Platinum home in Illinois and in a style that appeals to a much wider cross section of the public. While these homes can be thought of as pioneering efforts, if the goal is to engage the public then the design should be contextual to neighborhood and not be aesthetically shocking. The Slotnick’s home is a perfect example of this.”

LEED for Homes is a voluntary, third-party certification program developed by residential experts and experienced builders. LEED promotes the design and construction of high performance green homes, and encourages the adoption of sustainable practices throughout the building industry.

Download the LEED Project Snapshot

Contacts:

Barry Slotnick – 847-875-4920; bslotnick@varisport.com
Nathan Kipnis – 847-864-9650; nkipnis@kipnisarch.com

Tour a green home in Chicago’s Ravenswood neighborhood on Earth Day! This LEED single-family home is attempting to obtain 93 points for a LEED Gold rating and features some interesting and unique features.

Earth Day 2010 – LEED for Homes project tour

The previous house on the site was “deconstructed“, taken apart piece by piece and donated so that materials like lumber and sheathing can be used in building projects elsewhere.

Some of the special features include a geothermal heating/cooling system with radiant floors, a rainwater cistern that collects all roof run-off for irrigation, advanced air sealing and insulation techniques, and framing that helps minimize the lumber used. The structure is sized to account for the actual loading to avoid using more lumber than needed. Even the curved roofs are made from 12″ deep trusses spaced 24″ o.c.

Some other great features will include salvaged fir flooring and wood trim, the soy-based closed cell foam insulation, and a whole house HEPA filter. The house will have over 90% of the light fixtures Energy Star rated.

Rigid foam insulation covers the exterior sheathing to provide a better thermal break and help seal the house. The LEED for Homes Green Rater will verify this with blower door testing performed before drywall to show us the actual condition of the house, and identify any needed improvements while the walls are open and accessible. Another blower door test will be performed upon completion of the house.

The mechanical system was engineered to help balance the system well. The owners also intend to have a solar hot water system installed for their domestic hot water use.

Tour this Ravenswood home under construction as the framing stage wraps up. See examples of advanced framing techniques on Earth Day, Thursday April 22 from 2:00 – 3:00. Reserve your tour spot now.

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