Latest Project by Goodwin Classic Homes is Awarded Gold Certificate for Green Building

A green home building project recently completed by Goodwin Classic Homes was certified gold through the National Green Building Guidelines. This is the highest rating attainable through the guidelines. The program requires third party inspections to ensure compliance with the guidelines to maximize energy efficiency, water efficiency, indoor air quality, resource efficiency, and other green building focus areas. The home features spray foam insulation, a high-efficiency tankless water heater with built-in recirculation pump, a hybrid heat pump, low VOC paints, formaldehyde-free building materials, recycled materials such as Buckingham roofing slate, and many other green building features.

With regard to energy efficiency, the Energy Star index for this home was 62, meaning that it is significantly more efficient than a certified Energy Star home meeting minimum Energy Star standards. The summer, 2010 power bills for this home were remarkably low (approximately $200) given the large size of the home (almost 7000 square feet) and the abnormally hot summer weather.

Goodwin Classic Homes is committed to aligning green building practices with the client's vision in order to minimize overall cost to homeowners as well as the environment.

This home was finely architected by E. F. Smith Residential Design and was built to the highest of standards by Goodwin Classic Homes. The project was certified gold through the National Green Building Guidelines.

Phil Goodwin Earns Certified Green Professional (CGP) Designation

Green Building is much more than a trend. It is the future of building.

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that buildings in the US account for 39% of total energy use, 68% of total electricity consumption, and 38% of carbon dioxide emissions. And most of that energy is wasted unnecessarily. Dramatic improvements in energy efficiency are gaining momentum, as well as other green building focus areas such as indoor environmental quality, resource conservation, water efficiency, and environmental impact.

I recently earned my designation as a Certified Green Professional. This program is sponsored by the National Association of Homebuilders, and it is endorsed by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Given the ANSI endorsement and its user-friendly methodology, it is rapidly gaining popularity in residential homebuilding.

My goal is to incorporate green building principles in homebuilding while lowering overall cost so that my homes are more efficient, healthier, and are of significantly less impact on the environment. Green building is no trend. It is the future of building, and Goodwin Classic Homes is proactively and aggressively embracing that future.

Goodwin Classic Homes is Committed to Green Building Practices

The heightened focus on green building practices that we have observed lately is only gaining momentum. The green building movement is in high gear - not only in the U.S but around the world. Given the enormous impact on the environment arising from home construction and home energy and water use over the lifetime of the structure, it is of paramount importance that builders utilize green building practices.

Green building encompasses a wide variety of environmental considerations such as land development, solar heating and cooling, material selections and durability, water efficiency, indoor environmental quality, and energy efficiency. And of these considerations, energy efficiency is probably of greatest impact to the environment. Even with significant improvements in home energy efficiency over the past several years, there is still much room for improvement! New technologies and building techniques such as spray-foam insulation and Energy Star fixtures and appliances are making significant new improvements possible.

I am committed to obtaining the Energy Star certification on every home that I build. The results are easily quantifiable. My detailed specifications require conformance to Energy Star standards, and I have a third party inspect and test my homes to ensure compliance with those standards. The third party is specially qualified as a HERS (Home Energy Rating System) rater. The HERS rating on the last home I completed earlier this year was a 72. This score means that the home is almost twice the efficiency than that required for Energy Star Certification!

The immediate benefits of increased efficiency (and of green practices in general) are great: significantly lower energy bills, healthier interior environment, increased homeowner comfort, and less maintenance. And the long-term benefits to the environment - and therefore to our children - are priceless.

This equipment is used by the qualified Energy Star rater to quantify the whole house leakage - a major component of the Energy Star rating. Behind the white disc is a fan that creates a very strong vacuum, and pulls air through places you'd never suspect!