Successful Green Building Stories
Mark Galey and Kirk Lyman Barner
Two examples
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The first non-profit to receive EarthCraft
certification for a rehab in the US was
completed by volunteers from the Greater
Atlanta FCH
A gold rated duplex built by Americus-Sumter
FCH certified by the National Association of
Home Builders Research Center Green
Building program
www.earthcraft.org
Established in 1999 by the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association and
Southface, EarthCraft is a green building certification program that serves
Georgia, Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama, South Carolina and North Carolina.
To date, more than 13,000 EarthCraft homes, multifamily units and
commercial buildings have been certified.
Homes, businesses and communities certified through the EarthCraft
program must meet a number of criteria that ensure sustainable, efficient
design and function. Areas of focus include:
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Indoor air quality
Energy efficiency
Water efficiency
Resource-efficient design
Resource-efficient building materials
Waste management
Site planning
This existing house
needed some repairs!
House Dedication and Celebration with Aarons who
donated Energy Star appliances.
The Elizabeth Street Duplex Americus
Our local construction committee designed the
home based on Chuck Davis’s needs and monthly
disability income (~$850/month)
Permaculture Strategies
The SIPS Manufacturer Provided Engineer Drawings
from the Floor Plans we Provided
Features
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Structural Insulated Wall Panels (SIPS) used for
walls and ceiling which cost about $3,500
more for the duplex over traditional framing
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In line on demand gas hot water heater
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Stained concrete floors – no carpeting
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Cathedral ceiling allowed for HVAC ductwork
to be inside the condition space
Permaculture designing for exterior
Blower Door Testing
The factual evidence
$49.42 average
per month
The average bill for other
Georgia Power residential
customers during that same
period
was
$113.96
per
month,
For a 30 year savings of $23,234.40
this was duplex so
we saved both
households
over $46,000!
57 andpercent
more
than
the
Harris'
bill.
Dick Edwards, Independent Energy Rater
“This is a great success story,” Edwards said.
“What is remarkable is this last year was a very
hot summer, and the outstanding tightness of
the house combined with the outstanding
thermal insulation of the SIP panels did not
Lessons Learned
New Construction
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Keep plans for new construction
small – keep to the minimum
square footage
Consider the long-term ethics of
Renovations
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Affordable and Green both need to both be considered
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Is the house too big for the homeowner to afford to heat and cool?
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Create an air-sealing check list and meet the recommended insulation
requirements for the region
Storm windows are often a wise and more affordable solution instead of
replacement windows (due to cost saving, lead and asbestos issues)
Blower door tests can measure the effectiveness of air sealing and can be used
by an energy rater to predict utility bills
http://www.southface.org/defaultinterior/Documents/airsealingkeypoints.pdf
A final thought…..
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Construction waste recycling is the separation
and recycling of recoverable waste materials
generated during construction and
remodeling. Packaging, new material scraps
and old materials and debris all constitute
potentially recoverable materials. In
renovation, appliances, masonry materials,
doors and windows are recyclable.
8,000 lbs of waste are typically thrown into
the landfill during the construction of a 2,000
Look closely at the fish scale
gables…..
Thad made them out of
scraps of cement board
siding…. But we didn’t have
enough for both houses so
we went to New Horizon’s
Habitat for Humanity and
asked for their left over trash
pieces!
Questions?
www.nahbgreen.org
www.earthcraft.org
www.southface.org