House Tour Featuring Sustainable Homes

Sustainable HomesThe GreenBuilt Home Tours showcases houses within Northern Illinois that have been built using sustainable materials and processes. This week, they are featuring 16 homes, including the residence of the Lewandowskis – This would be the first house in La Grange that is hoping to achieve LEED certification. The tour will take place immediately after the last inspection for the certification.

Eco-Friendly Home

LEED certification does not come easy. They have strict guidelines that buildings must meet – both for the materials used and for the documentation process at each step. As a result, the efforts that the Lewandowskis have put into building their new home are not feeble. The house is tall and narrow, which enables the Lewandowskis to have sufficient space inside the house as well as for their lawn.  The glass in their casement windows is triple-pane for extra insulation. Even the floors are made of ridged foam instead of concrete, so that no heating is required in the winter.

The eco friendly promotional items used for building the house not only range from VOC-free paints and glues but also includes sustainable poplar wood for the floors, The Lewandowski family has actually reused items from a tear down to build their new house. The water heater and the old toilet, in particular, have found a place in the new house. Speaking of toilets, the Lewandowskis have even installed flushes which have two buttons in order for you to decide whether you want to flush a little, or more, conserving water in the process.

The house cost around 5% more to build than a traditional home would have, but the Energy Star rated electrical appliances, water conservation, and other eco friendly features of the house save up to 50% of the utility bills for the family. The Lewandowskis also have solar panel wiring in place, and plan to install them soon. This would further reduce the electricity bills. However, if you enter the house, you would barely be able to tell the difference between a traditional house and this one. According to Anthony Lewandowski, they wanted to build a house whose eco-friendliness would not be obvious. Besides, as Janet Lewandowski says, they wanted the house to fit in with the neighborhood.

Growing Demand for Eco Friendly Promotional Items

People are becoming increasingly environment-conscious these days, and as a result, the demand for eco friendly promotional items is continuously on the rise. People have not only moved towards organic foods and green fashion, but they are also choosing to recycle than to trash used items. As such, the Lewandowskis’ efforts in getting their home certified by LEED can definitely become a trend-setter.

Source:http://westernsprings.patch.com/groups/real-estate/p/green-built-house-tour-features-ecofriendly-la-grange-home_0a576fd3

Speak Your Mind

Copyright © 2024 Custom Grocery Bags. All Rights Reserved