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Habitat for Humanity of Southeastern Connecticut is striving for Gold level LEED certification for our house on Town Street in Lyme. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy Efficiency and Design. LEED certification is a green building system that makes sure the work done provides “energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts.” LEED certification is run through the US Green Building Council, their website is http://www.usgbc.org/.
Features and Benefits of LEED for Homes
LEED Homes has really challenged Habitat SECT in the aspects of durability, sustainability, and energy efficiency. These three categories are the major features/benefits of our Town Street LEED build.
Durability -air tight- important in preserving the insulation and keeping the hot/cold air inside as well as increasing indoor air quality. Multiple air seals to get the house as tight as possible -water tight -pressure treated wood where necessary ( i.e. when in contact with cement, exterior uses) -trex decking- will not warp or dry out, doesn’t need to be painted.
Sustainability aspects -less lumber- 2ft on center where able. -trex decking- trex is made from recycled materials. -rain barrels- to harvest rainwater for the yard -drought tolerant plants -low flow water fixtures -proximity to basic community resources- post office, town store, firehouse, local shops (decreases driving distances) -FSC certified woods- which means no tropical woods were used in any stage of building -*waste management (see paragraph below)
Energy-efficient -special light bulbs -Energy Star appliances (refrigerator, microwave hood, dishwasher) -decrease piping distance from water heater to fixtures. -passive solar heating- glazing on the Southside is 50% more than the Northside -high insulation values, 24 in the walls (with R-5 continuous on the exterior) and R-49 in the ceiling.
*LEED really had us look critically at our waste. We recycled everything we could, from metal, to cardboard to drywall. With what scrap wood we had, we separated it out into two piles, burnable and non-burnable. We encouraged volunteers to take burnable wood home to use in their fireplaces (a different form of recycling, but one that kept the wood out of a landfill).
Each different category mentioned above has cross benefits. As an example the sustainable aspect of 2 ft on center framing construction provides more room for insulation which helps keep the heat or the cool air inside, so you don’t have to use your furnace or air conditioner as often (more energy efficient). As another example, durability easily translates into sustainability, if you build a home that will last, you will be decreasing the number of resources needed to repair the home, because ideally, fewer repairs will be necessary.
What it means for Habitat SECT
These three categories fit into Habitat SECT’s mission statement – “providing decent affordable housing to families in need”. In the opinion of Habitat SECT, a decent house is a house that will last. An affordable house is a house that doesn’t cost a fortune to upkeep in repairs or in utilities.
Habitat for Humanity SECT may or may not go for LEED certification again, but will definitely use the lessons learned about sustainability, durability and energy efficiency in all our future homes. |
About Habitat SECT 
