Habitat Takes Building Green Seriously
Habitat Receives LEED Gold Certification for 2 Homes Habitat for Humanity of Dane County has officially been notified that two of its homes completed in May have achieved a certification of LEED GOLD. The homes are located in the Twin Oaks subdivision off Siggelkow Road in Madison.
Only nine homes in Dane County and 20 statewide have achieved LEED status. Only five homes in Wisconsin have achieved LEED Gold status and Habitat Dane is the first affiliate to receive this status in the state.
Building affordable and green homes is important for Habitat and for our families, said Habitat CEO Perry Ecton. More importantly, building energy-efficient homes means lower heating bills for our families, he said.
 In 2010, Habitat for Humanity of Dane County built its first home under the LEED concept and under the direction of a LEED-certified architect. LEED is an acronym for the phrase Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and is a registered trademark of the U.S. Green Building Council. The LEED green building certification program is a nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of green buildings.
The one-story home at 822 N. Fair Oaks Ave., Madison, is Energy Star Certified and includes stained concrete flooring, radiant-floor heating, super insulated, energy efficient windows with very low air infiltration rate and wide overhangs to reduce solar gains in the home during the summer.
Habitat’s Construction Manager Ben Delzer said Habitat defines sustainable building practices as “safe, affordable, quality-built and durable homes. Habitat’s focus is to construct homes to minimize natural resources and energy use. In Habitat’s 24-year history in Dane County, he said, nearly 100 of our homes are built under Energy Star certification.
Local Habitat Part of Home Depot’s Sustainable Building Program
This year, Habitat for Humanity of Dane County was accepted into the Home Depot Foundation’s Partners in Sustainable Building program. Habitat will be eligible for anywhere from $3,000 to $5,000 in grants when the local affiliate builds homes that are energy-efficient, healthy to live-in and affordable for families to maintain long term. Habitat has also received Focus on Energy and MG&E housing grants.
Greg Nettleton of Focus on Energy complimented Habitat on its energy efficient building techniques at the North Fair Oaks home. “It’s always a pleasure to see builders incorporating best practices in energy design to deliver an efficient home,” stated Nettleton. “I was impressed with the energy features that (Habitat) selected including extremely well insulated wall assembly and very low air infiltration rate.” Focus on Energy estimates the heating portion of the gas and electric bill for this home will be just over $200 a year.
About LEED
LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system, providing third-party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across all the metrics that matter most: energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts.
Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), LEED provides building owners and operators a concise framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions.
LEED is flexible enough to apply to all building types – commercial as well as residential. It works throughout the building lifecycle – design and construction, operations and maintenance, tenant fitout, and significant retrofit. And LEED for Neighborhood Development extends the benefits of LEED beyond the building footprint into the neighborhood it serves.
LEED points are awarded on a 100-point scale, and credits are weighted to reflect their potential environmental impacts. Additionally, 10 bonus credits are available, four of which address regionally specific environmental issues. A project must satisfy all prerequisites and earn a minimum number of points to be certified.
The Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) assumes administration of LEED certification for all commercial and institutional projects registered under any LEED Rating System.
Think of it like the nutrition label on a box of crackers: LEED provides the same kind of important detail about the green aspects of a building that, taken together, deliver higher performance.
Visit the Green Building Certification Institute's site to learn more about registering a project with LEED and the certification process.
LEED and the related logo is a trademark owned by the U.S. Green Building Council and is used with permission.
Keeping Reusable Building Materials out of LandfillIn its nine years, the Habitat ReStore has diverted more than 8,000 tons of building materials from Dane County landfills. By selling usable materials to the general public, the Habitat ReStore has saved valuable landfill space for all county residents.
Located at 208 Cottage Grove Road in Madison, the Habitat ReStore sells building materials including wood flooring, tiles, lighting, cabinets, appliances, doors, plumbing and more.
“Many businesses and home remodelers have saved hundreds if not thousands of dollars on their projects because of the Habitat ReStore,” said Jen Voichick, ReStore Director. “The ReStore is a great community resource.”
In addition, Habitat ReStore sales supports Habitat for Humanity of Dane County by funding about two homes in Dane County each year.
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