New Auburn home most 'sustainable' in the state

Contributed Auburn Villager The home of Catherine Boyer and Peter Lusche is the first in the state to be certified as a Green EnergyKey Home by the Homebuilders of Alabama.

For Catherine Boyer and Peter Lusche, building an eco-friendly home seemed the sensible thing to do. The married couple's new home is the first in the state to be certified as a Green EnergyKey home, the highest of three EnergyKey tiers in the Home Builders Association of Alabama's EnergyKey Program.

In 2006, the association joined with the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs and Southface Energy Institute to offer builders cost efficient "energy benchmarks" and training. The program also offers homeowners a resource to find professionals and weigh options, whether they are looking to update an existing residence or build a new one.

Lusche stressed that having an enthusiastic project team was crucial in getting the home to meet Alabama's highest sustainability standards.

AU architecture professors David Hinson and Christian Dagg partnered for the project after being approached by Boyer and Lusche two years ago and began the design phasein the spring of 2007.

Annie Hinson designed the interior, and John Stewart of Stewart Construction Co. led the construction.

Since EnergyKey requires the design to be created in Energy Star's computer model program, HERS, to reach the top two standards, Hinson said he and Dagg began working within the program's structure right from the start.

Hinson said HERS was able to interpret the design data entered and recommend additional sustainable options or modifications. Once the home's design met the program's requirements as well as the homeowner's requests, construction began in early 2008.

A final inspection was required before the home could receive one of the three EnergyKey labels.

Because EnergyKey's validation process is demanding, Hinson said there might be other homes in Alabama that meet the sustainability requirements of the program but have not been "certified."

When designing the home, Hinson and Dagg utilized several energy-saving and eco-friendly tactics.

"We paid careful attention to the setting, or how and where the home is placed," Hinson said. "We wanted to shade the house from the sun under the tree canopy already on the property."

"We went through great pains to preserve the majority of existing trees and limit the amount of concrete paving, as it contributes to runoff," he added.

The property therefore absorbs more rainwater, greatly limiting the amount of water the Lusches will need in landscaping.

In addition, the windows were positioned to ensure natural light and cross ventilation, and an overhanging roof works to keep the home cool during the summer, as does the choice of a light roofing color.

"Anyone who has owned a black car and a white car understands that the color of the roof determines how much solar energy is absorbed," said Hinson, who explained that black asphalt roofing only gained popularity because it resembled slate.

Hinson and Dagg also considered the efficiency of the type of wood used to build the exterior and floor the home, making the structure more durable and therefore more environmentally friendly.

Of the many other choices made by the design team, Hinson said, most of the things that had the biggest impact cost little or nothing.

"Paying attention to the way you orient the site, front angles and shading is the proverbial low-hanging fruit of energy conservation," he said. "Tighter insulation and better windows add a little to the initial cost of the house, but show dramatic changes in month-to-month energy costs."

Hinson said the HERS computer program helped the team better analyze costs and benefits.

While programs such as EnergyKey are still new to the Southeast, Hinson said "green building" is likely to be on the rise in the region with Alabama, Georgia and Florida leading the way.

"For the last 50 or 60 years, houses have been built with the assumption that we will always have electricity readily available. We just can't make that assumption anymore," he said.

"The Southeast enjoys low energy costs comparably, yet we are realizing that the days of coal-fire energy are numbered. When energy costs spike, many homeowners will be eager to learn more. Programs like EnergyKey are a big part of the answer."

Hinson said the need for sustainable design became all to apparent to him after hearing that some New Orleans residents had to evacuate after Katrina caused power outages simply because their homes were not habitable without air conditioning.

"It says a lot about how much we have been considering our climate when building," he said.

Hinson said redefining building standards, however, did not affect aesthetics. From the homeowner's perspective, Lusche agreed.

"Some may have the misconception that a sustainable home means it will have solar panels all over it," he said. "You can have a beautiful home and have all the energy conservation."

Both Lusche and Boyer said they had long histories of calling into question environmental standards.

Lusche grew up in southern California in the '60s before things like catalytic converters on cars, and said that the smog was so serious some days your throat burned and breathing was difficult. In college, he joined a research team that looked at lead deposits in national parks, uncovering information that led to the metal being taken out of fuel.

During his studies in California, Lusche met Boyer while the two were on fellowship. He is now a psychiatrist, and she is a clinical psychologist.

Boyer, too, had long been concerned with the health of the environment, particularly the effect of chemicals such as pesticides, and is committed to buying local and organic produce.

That's why Boyer and Lusche are using indigenous plants rather than planting a lawn.

"Lawns take a large amount of chemicals and water compared to native plants," Lusche said. "EnergyKey has proper steps to make sure you are preventing erosion and doing minimal harm from the moment you break ground."

Of all the things Lusche learned while building the home, he said the understanding of government programs and policy stood out.

"What government does and does not do to make it an efficient, easy project has great impact," he said. "We considered using geothermal heating and cooling, a serious investment and one of the most energy efficient ways to heat and cool the house, but there is a lack of tax incentives that just made it impossible."

Lusche concluded that making homes more sustainable ends up being "just another step in regards to our everyday commitment to conserving resources."