Hampton Bays, NY is home of one of the most
recently certified green homes on Long Island. Certified at the Silver
level of USGBC's LEED for Homes rating system the nearly 7000 square foot, 6
bedroom home achieved a lot for a home of its size. In addition to
achieving LEED for Homes certification the home is one of very few here on Long
Island to successfully achieve both Energy Star Version 3 certification and
Energy Star with Indoor Air Package.
Driven by a client who is sensitive to indoor
air pollution one of the driving factors during the design and construction was
to provide and maintain superior indoor air quality. This was achieved using high efficiency,
right sized, equipment within the tight building envelope. One of the first steps to increasing the
indoor air quality was to minimize the amount of toxins within the home. This is accomplished with the exclusive use
of zero and low VOC paints and adhesives
throughout the house. Additionally, a
mud room adjacent to the attached garage, with a shoe changing and storage area
help to minimize the amount of pollutants brought into the house while advanced
air filtration, as a part of the homes ventilation system, help to remove
contaminants that do make it inside.
Not only does the high efficiency HVAC help
to achieve high indoor environmental quality by keeping impurities to a minimum
but it also helps to maximize comfort along with energy efficiency. A wood framed building envelope with flash
and batt insulation, a method that includes a shallow layer of spray foam
insulation that provides a complete air barrier along with typical batt
insulation, provides a tight envelope that minimizes air infiltration and
eliminates drafts. This tight envelope
allows the HVAC to efficiently provide conditioned air to heat or cool the
space as needed. The project received a
Home Energy Efficiency Score (HERS) of 96 helping it achieve a total of 32 of a
possible 38 points in the Energy and Atmosphere credit category.
In addition to great energy efficiency and indoor
air quality the project gained LEED for Homes points with a largely native landscape
plan that requires less maintenance than typical Long Island yards, a high
efficiency irrigation system and low flow plumbing fixtures, and a variety of
environmentally preferable products including bamboo floors and FSC certified
cabinets.
While there was a steep learning curve for
much of the project team, this being an introduction to LEED for Homes for many
of them the project succeeded with continued perseverance and determination. In hindsight I would recommend including the
Integrated Project Team approach, especially where those new to LEED are on the
project team, in order to open and maintain communication throughout design and
construction.
This home is looking really very nice and awesome. With the frequently changing climate and emission of carbon it has become necessary to control the environment by checking the sustainability of the building.
ReplyDeleteI would like to tell that, I recently came across a website on internet named the spinnaker group inc who is providing the service of green building, leed certification etc.
What Is Green Concept? for certified green homes.
Robert, thank you for your comment. As we become more aware of our impacts it is important that we take steps towards caring more for ourselves, our community, and our planet. Where better then to start at home.
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