Home Gets Green Certification

This home in St. Petersberg, Fla. has been gold-certified by the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

“St. Petersburg is leading the way in Florida by implementing strategies for a sustainable future,” said St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker in a release. “St. Petersburg was the first city in the state to receive the Green Building Coalition’s Green City designation and has been recognized for its energy conservation, recycling, reclaimed water, fuel efficiency, landscaping, open space preservation and environmental program.”

The home was designed by REAL Building to reduce energy consumption, conserve water usage, create an efficient structure, and improve health and safety. The company also specified every material used in the home to showcase green products, materials and systems.

“The project derived from the desire to build a responsible, efficient, healthy home; the essence of what it today called green building,” said Darren Brinkley, the president of REAL Building, in a release. “The project utilizes applications used by homesteaders for centuries, if you like, and returns to basic building practices but with modern, integrated systems.”

Among the features in the home is a geothermal air-conditioning system that utilizes the Earth’s constant temperature six feet below its surface to heat and cool the house rather than extreme outdoor temperatures. It also has an in-house filtered grey water system to help with re-use of water, low-maintenance Florida-native landscaping, recycled glass countertops, high-efficient insulation and structurally insulated panels.

Source: Tampa Bay Business Journal