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GreenPoint Rated Award | |
Habitat East Bay received a GreenPoint Rated award at a special celebration on December 8th at the Freeda Court development in Livermore. The 22-home Livermore development scored a 95 (only 50 points are needed to qualify as a green builder). | |
Green Building
Habitat East Bay is one of the leaders in affordable “green building” in the Bay Area. HEB started building GREEN in 2002 at the Oakland Fruitvale site. Since then we have also built a 22-home green project in Livermore. We build “green” to take better care of our environment, our homeowners and our volunteers.What is “Green" Building?
Green building is a “whole-systems” approach for designing and constructing buildings that conserve energy, water, and material resources and are more healthy, safe, and comfortable. Many think of solar panels when they think of “green” building. The reality is that environmentally sustainable building goes far beyond energy consumption. Building materials and use of landfills during construction can have detrimental effects on volunteers, homeowners and the environment. For this reason, our homes incorporate a variety of green features, including “24 inch on center” framing (which reduces lumber usage by 30%), fast growing engineered lumber, 30% fly-ash concrete to reduce landfill, energy efficient fixtures and appliances on each home, green landscaping with drought tolerant plants and many more features.
The Cost
Some wonder if green building is too expensive. We have found most materials are comparable in price to their traditional counterparts and any extra cost is off-set by the savings on other materials. Many aspects of green building are simply design choices that utilize natural resources, like facing the homes south to capture passive solar heating and cooling. We have also found that the long-term savings gained by the energy efficiency is passed on to the families on their electric bills. Some families even report receiving electric bills where their house has contributed energy to the electric grid.
The Benefits
Aside from the long-term financial savings and ecological conservation that come with “green” building, many studies show that use of “green” materials can improve interior air-quality, improving health of volunteers that work on site and partner families that will live in the home permanently. Recent studies reveal that improving overall air-quality through use of no-VOC paints can reduce the rate of respiratory disease, allergy, asthma, sick building symptoms, and enhance worker performance.
Our Vision
As we look towards our future, we plan to continue building green and improve the way we build. We hope to develop techniques to pass on to our fellow affiliates and builders. Our committee, called the GreenTeam, works behind the scenes to educate the Habitat community on green building.
The Green Team is a committee of volunteers who assist HEB's green efforts by presenting a monthly event or lecture on new green materials, construction techniques or design. Although anyone can attend an event, each GreenTeam member must commit to organizing one event per year. Events take place on the last Tuesday of every month from 6 to 7pm.
To Learn more or to join the Green Team contact Louisa Galassini or by phone at 510-251-6304.
