Archives: LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)
Friday, March 17, 2006
... The exterior walls, from the basement to the eaves, will be solid concrete wrapped inside and out with 2 1/2 -inch-thick foam insulation.
Heat will be provided by a geothermal system. Hot water will be supplied by an on-demand heater. A heavily insulated metal roof will reduce heat loss. Windows will be extra-efficient.
Mr. Saunders, an information-technology process designer at Cardinal Health, expects his home's heating-and-cooling bills will be two-thirds less than that of a traditional house -- even a new house. ...
The foursquare home with a hipped roof will have a stucco exterior on the first floor and shingles made of cement and wood fibers on the upper level. ...
The interior, with three bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths, will feature hardwood floors milled from beams and other lumber reclaimed from demolished buildings. ...
The construction costs are about 4 percent to 6 percent more than traditional construction with wall frames made of 2-by-4-inch lumber, Kowaluk said. ...
Mr. Saunders estimated the cost of building the 2,050-square-foot house will be about $250,000, excluding the cost of the lot and the interior finishing work that he and his wife will handle, including making their kitchen cabinets and counters. ...
They are considering other conservation measures, including a cistern to store rainwater that can be used for landscape watering. In the future, Mrs. Saunders said, solar panels could be installed between seams on the metal roof to generate electricity.
In the summer, heat collected by the air-conditioning system will be used to warm water stored [in] a tank that will feed into the tankless unit. The preheated water will reduce the energy used by the tankless unit, he said. ...