I have yet to meet someone who is against the principles of green living and sustainability. People generally seem to want to do "their part" towards protecting our environment, whether it is picking up trash, turning off lights, turning up the thermostat and recycling cans and plastic bottles. The one point that is often made to me when talking about "green homes" is the fact that it really depends on the persons living in the house and their habits. Well, I guess the answer to that question is "yes" and "no." When people make the decision to purchase a LEED-H certified home, they are paying a bit more because they want the house itself to have an impact on the environment. LEED-H homes are built recycling materials, separating waste and using less toxic or non-toxic products. Those homes are more "green" just by virtue of how they were constructed. The "no" component comes about because of the behaviors and habits of the people that live in the homes. How do you know how "green" your lifestyle is?
How do you know when you are doing things that lower electrical consumption or decrease water usage? The lifestyle habits are a large component of truly being green.
Stay tuned as more information on understanding the impacts of your lifestyle habits on energy, water and air.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Monday, June 8, 2009
Green Certification...Good News!
Despite our disappointment with certification for the neighborhood, we are extremely pleased with how well the houses in Brytan are doing. We just found out that the most recent house may achieve LEED-H Gold certification!! We should know soon and will keep you posted. E.G. Gonzalez built a wonderful home with many green features. Not only does the house have icynene insulation but it also has a tankless gas water heater and dual-flush toilets in all of the baths. Dollar for dollar, this house is one of the most value-added buys on the market today.
Other good news pertains to the home currently under construction by DMCS, Inc. Many of you have been following the construction of this home and attending the green construction series presented by the builder and area LEED consultants. The home is on track and may obtain platinum certification, which would be a fantastic achievement!
Brytan continues to be Gainesville's Greenest Community!!
Stay tuned and we will keep you informed!
Other good news pertains to the home currently under construction by DMCS, Inc. Many of you have been following the construction of this home and attending the green construction series presented by the builder and area LEED consultants. The home is on track and may obtain platinum certification, which would be a fantastic achievement!
Brytan continues to be Gainesville's Greenest Community!!
Stay tuned and we will keep you informed!
Green Certification...not good news!
This week-end we received news thatwe would not be able to be certified as a LEED-ND community. It was very disappointing because the areas that we fell short in, are areas that can not be changed at this point. There is an environmental prerequisite and though we satisfied local, state and federal requirements, we could not satisfy the LEED requirement. Since it is a prerequisite, none of the other issues matter.
Overall, I think it is good that USGBC is trying to recognize neighborhoods but I think the program has many kinks to work out. If your project is in a dense, urban area surrounded by existing development and your buildings are already designed, you should probably pursue the certification. If your projext falls into Stage 2 under USGBC's guidelines, I would proceed with extreme caution. You likely won't have the information in the format (e.g., already built) that USGBC is looking for. When asked to provide estimates, USGBC did not accept our estimates. We were using the best information that we had to make a realistic and achievable projection. To be told that your estimate is not acceptable by a committee that is not located in the area nor that understands local markets, is frustrating.
Was it worth it? We spent ten of thousands of dollars and much of it was wasted on trying to guess what USGBC wanted. If you are considering the program, I would wait until USGBC provides concrete examples of what is acceptable and concrete examples of how they want the information provided. Too often, the existing examples only applied to Stage 1 projects so the other two stages did not have clear guidance. The program is probably best suited for Stage 1 projects. Knowing that, I would not pursue it if I had it to do over again.
Overall, I think it is good that USGBC is trying to recognize neighborhoods but I think the program has many kinks to work out. If your project is in a dense, urban area surrounded by existing development and your buildings are already designed, you should probably pursue the certification. If your projext falls into Stage 2 under USGBC's guidelines, I would proceed with extreme caution. You likely won't have the information in the format (e.g., already built) that USGBC is looking for. When asked to provide estimates, USGBC did not accept our estimates. We were using the best information that we had to make a realistic and achievable projection. To be told that your estimate is not acceptable by a committee that is not located in the area nor that understands local markets, is frustrating.
Was it worth it? We spent ten of thousands of dollars and much of it was wasted on trying to guess what USGBC wanted. If you are considering the program, I would wait until USGBC provides concrete examples of what is acceptable and concrete examples of how they want the information provided. Too often, the existing examples only applied to Stage 1 projects so the other two stages did not have clear guidance. The program is probably best suited for Stage 1 projects. Knowing that, I would not pursue it if I had it to do over again.
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