Carbon-neutral home building is a new and growing trend in sustainability, where more efficient building design, innovative technology and strategic locations can be combined to reduce carbon emissions — the leading cause of greenhouse gases.
Aug 29, 2009
A significant part of achieving this goal in the construction of such homes is ensuring that each building product installed has the maximum amount of sustainable attributes. Such is the case with the Carbon Neutral House in McLean, Va. — the first carbon-neutral home in the Mid-Atlantic region.
Greenspur Inc., of Fairfax, Va., the builder of the Carbon Neutral House, wanted to use fiber cement siding for the home’s external cladding and began researching different products. Upon the recommendation of TW Perry, a building products distributor with locations throughout Virginia and Maryland, Greenspur chose CertainTeed® WeatherBoards™ FiberCement Siding . The siding is non-combustible, impact-resistant, impervious to wood-boring insects, resistant to UV rays, will not rot and consistently outperforms wood, hardboard and composite siding.
“TW Perry told us about the environmental benefits of the WeatherBoards product, and we were sold,” says Mark Turner, owner of Greenspur. “In addition, it’s a great-looking product and will last a long time.”
CertainTeed® WeatherBoards™ FiberCement Siding
“The WeatherBoards product line is perfect for green home projects, like the Carbon Neutral House,” says Allison Barlaz, Director of Marketing for CertainTeed’s Fiber Cement Division. “Made with a combination of recycled fly ash, Portland cement, wood fiber and specialty additives, WeatherBoards is an environmentally friendly product with the most authentic-looking grains and textures of any fiber cement siding on the market.”
The Carbon Neutral House, designed in a Craftsman Style by Washington, D.C., architectural firm Cunningham Quill Architects, called for 6,500 square feet of WeatherBoards. The home features four bedrooms and 3-1/2 baths, with approximately 3,800 square feet of livable space. Other green features of the home include geothermal heating and cooling, a solar hot water system and photovoltaic panels to generate on-site electricity; low-flow water fixtures; and rain water capture. The house is expected to use 70 to 80 percent less energy per square foot than a comparable new home.
Any additional power needed to run the home will be purchased as “clean” power from the local utility provider. The home is also located within walking distance of McLean’s amenities and public transportation.
The Carbon Neutral House is a joint venture between Greenspur and Washington, D.C., real estate developers West*Group. Construction began last year, and was completed in July, with public tours beginning this fall.
http://www.certainteed.com
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