Greenest Home In America

Check out the David Gottfried's (co-founder of the US Green Building Council and the World Green Building Council) blog, which chronicles the design and construction of his family's recently finished green home in SF. The house was issued a LEED platinum certification last November, and it's also the highest rated home ever certified by the LEED for Homes Rating System.

The blog is a great source of information for us because it highlights the steps taken and milestones achieved during the construction of one of the greenest living spaces in the US. Many new green suppliers and products are also introduced, giving us more ideas...

The following includes a highlight of the project's various green features:

• Walkable site, close to hundreds of shops, parks, BART, schools
• Reuse of a 93 year old existing home and site
• Cellulose wall insulation, closed-cell foam - attic rafters, batt insulation - crawl space
• Installation of new Marvin low-E double pane windows throughout the house
• Installation of new locally built "green" cabinets (Silverwalker)
• New Bosch kitchen appliances and washer/dryer - all Energy Star, low water & quiet
• New water efficient cast iron recycled steel bathroom sinks and tub by Kohler
• Dual-flush toilets by Caroma (1.28 and 0.8 gallons per flush)
• Efficient showerheads and faucet aerators by Bricor and Kohler
• Energy efficient (Energy Star) lighting and fans; some LED's
  
• FSC wood for construction framing, plywood, and replacement floors (Eco-Timber)
• High recycled content tile (Oceanside & Syndecrete) and countertops (Syndecrete)
• Solar hot water panels (HSC)
• Solar photovoltaics (Envison Solar/Suntech) - 16 panels = 2.72 kW
• Solar hot water heater (Phoenix System by HSC) - radiant heating & hot water
  
• Green paint (Mythic) - no VOC's, exceeds GS-11 Green Seal standard
• New fireplace glass enclosure and damper
• Termite damage mitigation and prevention methods, bait traps
  
• Rear yard solar PV (8 panels) LifePod home office with passive solar design
• Greywater capture for use in garden
• Rainwater capture for use in garden and toilet
• Native,drought tolerant plants with graywater drip irrigation
• Vegetable garden
• Basalite permeable pavement and DG (decomposed granite)
• Use of reclaimed wood (entry stairs,framing, deck)
• Reuse of old doors and hardware
• Energy modeling and infiltration performance testing and tightening (blower door)
  
• Received LEED for Homes Platinum Rating on November 7, 2008 (106.5 points)
• 1st LEED Platinum in Northern California and the highest rated in the country
• PG&E Climate Smart Program (offsets)
• Pursuing Build it Green's: Green Point Rated renovation certification (pilot program)

For more information about the Gottfried's Rengenerative Home, click here.