Crozet’s latest LEED dwelling
Back in our April issue, we wrote about a house Upstream Construction was building in Crozet for Brian and Joan Day. It’s notable not only because it’s a custom house with many green features, but because the Days are both environmental professionals who decided to open their house to the public during and after construction, so people could take a look and learn a thing or two.
Well, the house is done and a final open-house event revealed the finished look of the house that Upstream built to LEED specifications for $200 a square foot, similar to the cost of a standard custom home.
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The Day house joins the LEED club with selectively cut oak flooring and cabinets, plus a raft of other features. |
Horizontal lines and pale olive weatherboarding situate the house unobtrusively along a wooded slope. A permaculture landscape design calls for sheet mulch and native plants. Inside, deep concrete/Styrofoam-insulated walls provide generous sittable window sills.
Floors and cabinets are made from selectively cut Goochland County red oak. Low-flow appliances and a tank-less water heater make the plumbing system greener. A central vacuum system and Energy Recovery Ventilator keep the air clean.
The Days welcomed over two dozen interested folks who showed up to view the finished product, many of whom had toured the house in its earlier stages and seemed eager to track its progress. Information-sharing: a welcome hallmark of the local green movement.—Cathy Clary
Ditch the ducts
As the days grow shorter, the nights grow colder, and your hand starts creeping toward that thermostat, consider this: Ductless split systems are touted as a more energy-efficient alternative to traditional A/C and heating.
Ductless split air systems have two parts: a compressor/condenser on the outside, and an air handling unit on the inside. Temperature is adjustable for each individual indoor unit, so attaching additional units for different rooms or zones gives you more flexibility in controlling temperature.
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With a ductless split system, you’ll have an air handling unit (or several) like this inside, and a compressor/condensor outside. |
Think about it, homeowners: all the flexibility of window-mounted A/C, plus the heating and cooling capability of central systems, minus the inefficiencies of heating the whole darn house to warm up a single room. Tack on energy savings from the use of pipes rather than heat-leaking ducts, and the savings start adding up.
Installation is reportedly simple, but for those of us who are less than handy, J & M Maintenance Inc. (249-6517) can set up your system. Priced at $1,500-$2,000 per ton of cooling capacity, ductless split system may have a steep initial cost, but give it time, and you might just find yourself cozying up to a newer, greener, way of life.—Lucy Zhou
$10 to a sounder sleep
Here’s the coolest project we heard about this month: On Friday, September 12, a bunch of UVA students (in architecture and engineering) assembled, at the Cobham home of architecture prof John Quale, structures they’d designed to shelter two sleeping people. The rules were that the structures had to be made from recycled, reclaimed or natural materials; that materials had to be recycled after the project; and that each structure could take no more than two hours to assemble and cost no more than $10. After evaluators actually spent Friday night sleeping in these rather amazing constructions, group of experts evaluated the results and handed out prizes.
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A structure with a plastic-bag and office-paper ceiling was one of the ecoMOD students’ clever sleep solutions. |
These students comprise the next ecoMOD team (that’s a real-world sustainable-building project headed by Quale), so you know these sleeping shelters are small potatoes compared to some of the challenges they’ll soon be solving. But beyond that, their structures were clever and beautiful. Teams used newspaper, aluminum cans, shredded office paper, plastic bags, cardboard, and other common materials to create an impressive variety of forms.
The winning project took only 30 minutes to set up and was held off the ground by reclaimed shipping crates. Said Quale, “It just was very well integrated, and they would have been totally fine in a substantial rain.”—Erika Howsare
Ticket to ride
Locals are finding a slew of ways to downshift their driving. Here’s the bottom line: Eliminating one weekly 10-mile trip will save you over 2,000 miles a year and up to $550 in gas.
*To maintain your level of awareness, keep a fuel log.
*Then trade your four wheels for two and bike or walk.
*Not viable? Jeff Greer, a LexisNexis systems engineer, says he saves up to 35 miles a week using the Charlottesville Transit System bus or free trolley.
*Our local rideshare program makes carpooling easy. Make a once-a-week commitment and the “guaranteed ride” program ensures you won’t be left stranded. And parents: Check to see if your school is registered with the schoolpool which matches drivers for you. Both are at rideshareinfo.org.
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*Have you heard of hypermiling to maximize fuel efficiency? Consider making small adjustments in your driving techniques for a week: shifting into neutral when reaching top speed, staying within speed limits, eliminating quick starts, and turning off the engine when idling for more than a minute.
*Talk to your boss about the possibility of four-day work week or working from home. Select departments at UVA and the City of Charlottesville have promoted this fuel-saving change.
*Marleigh Baratz, an Albemarle resident, began a “call before you go” system on her block. Before going to the store, she phones neighbors to see if they need a couple items (to be reimbursed), helping others to avoid unnecessary trips. Better yet, take advantage of Retail Relay (retailrelay.com): a newly launched online service, where you click, pay, and make one trip to pick up your local goods.