David Southerland, unmarried and 40, never wanted to own a single-family home. His mother, however, had always encouraged him to invest in a house of his own. When she died in 2001 and left Southerland her savings, he decided to fulfill her wishes. Instead of buying an existing house, though, Southerland wanted to "make a statement" and build a legacy to his mother.
An avid bicyclist and energy-use advocate, Southerland shared his vision with Evan Hunter, co-owner of the design-build firm Hunter-Reising. Although he had never built an EarthCraft home, Hunter agreed to take on the project.
He and Southerland applied what they learned from classes at the Southface Energy Institute and built a house that earned the most number of EarthCraft points that Southface had ever awarded. Completed in December 2003, just six months after construction began, the house won the Custom House of the Year Award in 2004.
To attain the EarthCraft distinction, Hunter-Reising had to incorporate a number of green building practices into the design and construction, including materials selection, energy optimization, and waste reduction and removal. At the request of Southerland, Hunter-Reising used the Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability (BEES) software program to help identify eco-friendly building products.
Developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Building and Fire Research Laboratory, BEES allows builders to select cost-effective, environmentally friendly building products by measuring the unit of embodied energy per building material (e.g. cinder block, two-by- four, brick, etc.).
Embodied energy is the measure of raw materials used, resources employed to manufacture and transport the product, and waste produced in making the product. BEES ranks products on their amount of embodied energy (low to high) and generates recommendations for the best materials to use based on the location of your house.
While Hunter liked the BEES concept of embodied energy, he felt that it was just one part of the equation. "I compare it to eating foods that are locally grown and not. If you use brick, which is made in the South, you help save on embodied energy, especially with rising fuel prices. But there are a number of ways you can evaluate materials – energy, toxicity, whether or not they come from countries that promote democracy," he said.
The house, located on Mellrich Avenue in Kirkwood, is a modest, one-and-a-half story, 1,800-square-foot home with two bedrooms, two baths, and a 450-square-foot basement used as a workshop and for bicycle and boat storage. The upstairs bachelor pad, complete with pool table, television and couches, has about 400 square feet available for expansion in the future. Before building, only the foundation of the previous house, which burned down in 1980, remained.
Southerland’s home is in keeping with the style of the neighborhood and exemplifies how attractive, yet practical energy-efficient houses can be constructed. "I wanted to show how an environmentally friendly house could be built that wasn’t crazy; it didn’t use solar or wind power for example," Southerland said.
Thinking of the house as a whole unit, Hunter designed it with how the various systems (e.g. heating and air, lighting, ventilation, etc.) work together. The house exchanges inside air with outside air to minimize indoor air pollution. Closed cell foam insulation was used, providing a tight seal around its edges. The on-demand hot water heater and the solar lighting tubes installed in skylights in the bathroom and pantry help reduce utility bills.
Features outside Southerland’s home also help him reign in and use resources efficiently. A moderately sized water cistern collects rainwater for landscape irrigation. The deck is made of recycled plastic soda bottles that have been compressed into plank-style boards that look and act like wood but will last longer and require less maintenance. The gravel driveway consists of the ground-up remains of the old foundation and retaining wall.
"When people ask me how much extra does it cost, I don’t know how to answer them," Southerland said. "I do know though how much it saves me. For gas, electricity and water, I have averaged $105 a month since I’ve lived here. I know people nearby with similarly sized houses who pay a lot more than that."
For more information on EarthCraft homes, visit www.southface.org. For more information on the BEES Software program, visit www.bfrl.nist.gov.
