 EnviroCitizen.org has noticed that green homes are constantly evolving to become better and more innovative. Some look like something out of a science fiction movie, whereas others are more of a classy architecture-style and some look like regular homes. Architects, engineers and builders are always coming up with new green home ideas to please their clients.
An example, featured on the Green Home Guide website, is the Whitney ranch house in Rocklin, California. The home looks like a regular, contemporary home, but there is more than meets the eye. The home saves $1,400 on utilities a year. A 75% minimum construction waste was diverted from the landfill and used on the home itself! The average utility bills were also a whopping 65% lower.
The Grupe Company was the designer of this home. It has a long history of building with sustainability and energy efficiency in mind. The Whitney ranch house is part of a community of a 144 homes in the Carsten Crossings neighborhood in Rocklin, California. The community is the country's first to be built with a commitment to certifying all its homes under the LEED Green Building Rating System. The three to five-bedroom homes range from 2,168 to 2,755 square feet, with the four-bedroom around 2,543-square-foot called Oakgrove falling right about in the middle.
Carsten Crossings' homes specialize in energy efficiency, with efficiency ratings 35% higher than California's Title 24 residential efficiency standards require. The homes include photovoltaic roof tiles to provide electricity. The onsite solar power source can reduce electricity bills by as much as 70%. The homes also include specially treated windows windows, attic insulation with heat resistance and exterior foam building wraps and tight ducts which prevent heat from leaking out during the winter and in during the summer. The homes are equipped with variable-speed furnaces with a 94% AFUE (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency) rating, which means 94% of the fuel is converted to heat, with only 6% lost through the chimney. This is a definite improvement on conventional homes that have as much as 80% of their energy emitted.
The Grupe Company also built its Carsten Crossings homes with a focus on the careful use of materials and resources. Builders diverted 75% of all concrete, roofing, drywall and wood waste from the landfill. Framing lumber and concrete came from local sources, minimizing the pollution and fuel use required to ship the materials to the building site. Indoor environmental air quality is boosted by the use of a specialized mechanical ventilation system for fresh air and both the mechanical ventilation and HVAC systems underwent third-party verification.
The Whitney ranch house and similar homes are examples of some of the many ways that green homes are becoming even more innovative. If you are looking to have a green home in the future, EnviroCitizen.org suggest that you check out some of what's out there for green homes to get inspired. With so many wonderful, green examples you're sure to find something you like!
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