LEED Platinum Award
LEED Platinum
Certification Awarded
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LEED Platinum Awarded to Nubanusit Neighborhood & Farm Single-Family Home
September 24, 2008, (Peterborough, NH)
Nubanusit Neighborhood & Farm, New Hampshire’s first green residential development, has been awarded LEED Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for a single-family home in its neighborhood. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification is the world's most widely recognized standard for sustainable, high-performance, low-energy-use buildings. This is the first single-family home in the state to receive Platinum certification, the highest possible rating. Only 44 other single-family homes in the nation have received this rating.
Nubanusit Neighborhood & Farm is a cohousing community of 29 homes on 70 acres within walking distance of the center of Peterborough, New Hampshire. All of the homes in the neighborhood are built to the highest LEED standards. Bruss Construction, Inc. of Bradford, NH, well-known in the region for their expertise in the construction of LEED buildings, is the contractor for the project. O’Neil Pennoyer Architects of Groton, MA, designed the homes. LEED-certified homes complete a technically rigorous process that includes a home energy (HERS) rating and onsite inspections to verify that the home is built to be energy and water efficient, environmentally sound, and a healthier place to live. The home uses less than half the energy of a standard house and significantly reduces water use.
“The residential sector contributes greatly to climate change and is responsible for 21% of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions,” said Michelle Moore, Senior Vice President of Policy & Market Development, U.S. Green Building Council. “Green homes like those at Nubanusit Neighborhood & Farm are an immediate and measurable way individuals can make a difference for the environment, and this project will serve as an example to the community of the benefits of building green.”
About the home:
The 4-bedroom, 1790 square-foot home has a HERS rating of 45, which means it uses 55% less energy than a standard house built to code. Sustainable features include dense-pack cellulose insulation; insulated fiberglass triple-glazed windows; low-VOC, recycled, and natural materials, chosen for quality and durability; and infrastructure for solar hot water collectors. Day-lighting design, compact fluorescent lights (CFLs), and Energy-Star appliances help minimize electricity use; and low-flow fixtures and dual-flush toilets reduce water use. The entire neighborhood is heated by a central wood-pellet fired heat plant, which also provides hot water. It is the largest district heating installation using pellet fuel in the U.S. A healthy indoor environment is provided by a selection of no or low-toxicity building materials and a fresh air ventilation system with heat recovery. The home is landscaped with native, drought-tolerant plants, with minimal turf.
About the U.S. Green Building Council
The U.S. Green Building Council is a nonprofit membership organization whose vision is a sustainable built environment within a generation. LEED for Homes is a third-party certification system for high-performance green homes. Developed and administered by USGBC, LEED for Homes awards points to projects in seven categories of environmental performance: Location & Linkages, Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Indoor Environmental Quality, Energy & Atmosphere, Homeowner Awareness, and Innovation and Design. For more information, visit www.usgbc.org.
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