By Vanessa Overholser - Staff Writer
Frontier Housing officials announced in the spring that the home finance and construction company was going “green.” Now it is in the final stages of building the “green home.”
Community and Designs Director Josh Trent said the 1,274-square foot three-bedroom and two-bathroom home is located on Rubio Place located off Luallen Avenue in the Edgewood Community. It is the first house that meets Kentucky Green Built requirements.
“We started building the house three weeks ago,” Trent said. “That is 15 calendar days which includes weekends. We hope to have the house completed by the end of next month.
“The home went through a third-party inspection process,” Trent said. “It is Energy Star qualified. It will meet and exceed Energy Star requirements as established by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency).”
The features of the home are both cost-effective and eco-friendly.
“This home has an energy truss: it allows the home to have more insulation throughout the entire building,” Trent said. “The house is insulated with Agri-Balance. It is made of 4 percent soy and it is being used in place of fiberglass insulation. This is healthier for everyone in the home to breathe.”
The overall insulating factor of this insulation is a R-22. R is the rate of heat resistance and the number 22 is the value of insulation per inch. The ceiling, windows and wall studs are all caulked throughout the home. The purpose for using so much caulking is to keep air and heat from escaping from the home.
The home has a light conservation feature.
“In bathroom number two and the master bathroom, there are Volux Solar light tubes,” he said during a tour of the home last week. “This is an alternate lighting source for rooms without windows. As you can see there are many windows in this house. You wouldn’t have to turn a light on in this home during the day.”
The house is equipped with an advanced heating and cooling system.
“It keeps the home one or two degrees of the thermometer constantly,” he added. “The utility savings is from 15 to 20 percent and the utility cost would be $60 or less per month and that is just with electricity.”
Frontier’s “green” home has a water conservation system also.
“The home has low-flow faucets, toilets and showerheads,” Trent said. “That should reduce water costs. It would definitely pay the minimum water bill. The water low flow plumbing features flows 1.6 gallons of water per minute.”
Trent said Frontier will be using a different type of siding on the home.
“We will use Hardy Plank siding,” he said. “It is a fiber cement siding. It is pre-cased in the factory and it is applied like vinyl siding and it looks like vinyl siding. It also has a wood texture to it.”
The process of putting the siding on the house would take only three days to complete - that is if the weather cooperates. The roofing would contain shingles that are not too light but not dark. The roof would reflect heat radiating from the sun off the house.
Anyone who is interested in adding a deck to their “green” home can get a Pergola deck with a lattice-like covering.
“It is a shelter that provides good shade,” Trent said. “It makes it nice and cool. When it is hot outside and the sun is shining, this shelter would shield the deck from the sun beating down on the deck, which would make it really hot. It makes an architectural piece of the home. The flooring on the deck is made of a composite of recycled milk jugs and wood particles which give it a wood look.”
Principles of “green built homes” include the following:
• Environmentally assessed lot design.
• Resource efficiency.
• Energy efficiency.
• Water efficiency.
• Indoor environment air quality.
• Home owner education.
• Global impact.
“Everyone will save on monthly utility costs,” Trent said.
The savings on utilities would pay for the materials and features in the home. The cost for the home and the land is $123,000.
“A lot of folks say they can build a Energy Star home but not all companies can say they are Energy Star certified,” Trent said. “This is not just a building with energy efficient equipment in it. It is a system. You can’t have one part of the home be Energy Star certified. You have to have all of the home be Energy Star certified.”
Consumers can find more information about energy star certified home construction by logging onto www.energystar.gov.
People interested in purchasing an Energy Star home from Frontier can contact Sales Specialist Chris Robbins at 356-6390.
Contact Trent to get more information about Frontier’s “green built homes” at 784-2131.
