sheville, North Carolina - Hickory Nut Forest Eco-Community is a new green community nestled in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina near Asheville. This green eco community has all the eco-friendly advantages for a sustainable lifestyle including renewable energy, organic community gardens, orchard, and a brand new community retreat center called “Laughing Waters” which is a hub for special programs, social gatherings, family events and workshops throughout the year.
Hickory Nut Forest embraces the serenity of nature with home sites adjoining forever-wild, protected forest land. Imagine living in a green community next to over 800 acres of natural forest wilderness with boulder-filled streams, waterfalls, mountain hiking trails, views of mountain vistas and wildflowers that caress the land.
Living in this sustainable community, your new green eco home is in complete balance with nature, immersed in the natural beauty of Hickory Nut Gorge.
Asheville, just 17 miles from Hickory Nut Forest is a city famous for its environmental awareness, friendly atmosphere, local mountain culture, great food, entertainment, art, shopping and diverse music. Quality medical care and 24-hour emergency services are available at Mission Hospitals in Asheville.
Green Features:
• Green Building: Homes incorporate sustainable building materials, local wood, natural building techniques, rainwater catchment, and both active and passive solar designs.
• Certified Green: All homes meet green standards and receive Healthy Built Homes or LEED certification.
• Renewable Energy: A goal to become a Net Zero Energy community with solar, wind, micro-hydro and geothermal systems producing more energy that residents use.
• Organic Gardens: Residents can grow organic vegetables, flowers and herbs in the garden and greenhouse.
• Permaculture Community: Designed with the entire ecosystem in mind: using plants, water, soils, water, and human structures in ways that eliminate and recycle waste, working in harmony with nature.
• Sustainable Living: Protecting the natural environment, growing food abundantly, using energy wisely, building healthy homes, and living and growing among friendly neighbors.
Green Amenities:
• Laughing Waters Community Center and Retreat Site: This hub for community gatherings of all kinds is located at the site of an old gristmill on Hickory Nut Creek and will be powered by the stream with a micro-hydro system.
•Forever Wild Lands: Homesites adjoin forestlands protected by a permanent Conservation Easement.
• Vineyard and Apple Orchard: Residents can pick delicious organic apples, grapes and other fruits in the orchard.
• Swimming and Waterfalls: Jump in a swimming hole on the creek or head to a nearby beach at Lake Lure.
• Mountains: Enjoy peaceful mountain living with views of Little Mount Pisgah and Burnshirt Mountain.
• Recreation: Hickory Nut Gorge offers a variety of outdoor activities for all ages including: 15 miles of hiking trails, horse-back riding, kayaking, fly fishing, boating, rock climbing and exploring nearby Chimney Rock State Park.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
Jay DeChesere turns his North Carolina home into a living laboratory for sustainable building.
As reported on www.ecohome.com
By: Katy Tomasulo
Jay DeChesere turns his North Carolina home into a living laboratory for sustainable building.
After his parents moved into a retirement community, Jay DeChesere, AIA nearly sold their Wilmington, N.C., home of 20 years. Instead, he opted to transform the shed-roof house into a living laboratory for green building, and in doing so recorded 113.5 points in the LEED for Homes program, one of the highest ever achieved by a remodel.
The gut rehab expanded the 1,230-square-foot ’80s-era structure to 1,648 square feet, largely by converting the garage into living space and then adding a carport. To make the home a true demonstration project, DeChesere approached vendors for discounts and formed a design team to pre-plan various scenarios and determine the most sustainable options.
The charrettes included an eco broker from Suntrust bank who provided advice on how certain decisions might impact the opinions of buyers and the dwelling’s resale value, including how to help outsiders understand the purpose of the property’s limited turf area, whether a green roof would be well-received, how to best orient the new open floorplan, and what was the most marketable number of bedrooms for the size (three).
A key concern of the broker, for instance, was that the garage-turned-home-office in no way resemble its former self. One area where the team ignored resale rules was converting the fireplace into a skylight shaft with an entertainment center below. The risk paid off, as DeChesere says it’s been one of visitors’ most talked-about features.
Once overall design decisions were made, the team went all out, jumping at every opportunity to make sustainable selections, including a 3-kW 14-panel solar array (ground-mounted in the backyard because the existing roof did not offer optimal positioning). Excess power is sold at one-and-a-half times cost to NC GreenPower, a non-profit that uses the energy to supplement the state’s existing power supply; power is also sold to local utility, Progress Energy. Selling the excess kilowatts eliminated the need for storage, DeChesere says, and should help pay the PV system off in six years.
Blog Sponsor- GarageDoorNorthCarolina
When you think of green products for your home your first thought was probably not the garage door. A new website, Garage Door North Carolina may change that. Your garage door is one of the largest moving parts on your home and important part of energy conservation. Why not own a garage door that is made from sustainable products and will not have to replaced as often as a wooden garage door? For more information on your next garage door in North Carolina please visit their website at ww.garagedoornorthcarolina.com
“The whole issue was to make it a demonstration project to show to the public all the strategies available,” explains the architect, who says the team viewed it like taking a dinner menu and sampling each dish.
With that in mind, the house also includes a geothermal system, solar water heating, a green roof, and water reuse for toilet flushing.
But it wasn’t all about flashy products—greening the home started with evaluating the existing envelope. After the crew stripped the house down to the studs, they found that the original builder had used, in addition to fiberglass batts, a 3/4-inch foam insulation board with a vinyl vapor barrier on the outside of the wood studs, creating a thermal break that reduced or eliminated heat/cold transfer through the studs and also provided a natural air seal and some additional R-value. When compared to a foamed-in-place insulation, the wall was almost comparable and with the additional cost considered, it made more sense to leave the batt insulation in place.
The attic's existing blown-in insulation had settled to R-5. The Energy Rater modeled the home with an R-30 blown-in attic insulation and a radiant barrier versus a foamed-in-place insulation at the roof and found that there was very little difference in the required HVAC system, so little that the additional cost of foam, again, did not make sense.
The remodeled house achieved a HERS rating of 28. Per a blower-door test, the final leakage ratio was 0.21; the final leakage ratio for the duct-blaster test was 0.23.
The crew diverted 91% of waste, including reusing wood studs, donating and recycling materials, and diverting drywall and wood scraps into lawn supplement or mulch. The design team had planned to keep the five-year-old insulated vinyl siding, but when some of the material got stripped off during construction, the remaining panels were sold on Craigslist and replaced with pre-painted fiber-cement from James Hardie.
Among the home’s other conservation-minded features:
*
Occupancy sensors
*
LED and CFL lighting
*
Energy Star-rated fiberglass Pella windows with Low-E4 glass
*
Energy Star-rated Whirlpool appliances
*
85% of rain falling on the roof is collected for irrigation and toilet flushing
*
Zone-controlled and rain-delay-controlled irrigation
*
American Standard low-flow showerheads and lav faucets
*
Toto 1.28-gpf toilet; American Standard dual-flush toilet
*
Icestone recycled-content bathroom countertops
*
Reuse of all studs from demolition
*
Locally harvested and manufactured wood products; FSC-certified lumber where appropriate
* Concrete driveway reused as sidewalk pavers
*
Fresh-air system
*
MERV-13 filters
*
Low- and no-VOC finishes
*
Non-toxic pest control
*
Concrete countertops made with 40% recycled content
Though he admits the house features more elements than some clients are willing to pay for (after all, the goal was to experience and showcase as many sustainable features as was practical), DeChesere sees opportunity in showcasing the possibilities and appreciates the lessons that owning the decked-out dwelling provide him as an architect.
“This whole thing is a demonstration in the fact that we can live here and make recommendations for the client,” he says. Experiencing the products first hand helps him spot durability issues for new materials or learn nuances of technologies like the solar hot water system, advice he can pass along to future clients installing the systems.
As part of the demonstration goal, the home was (and continues to be) featured on solar and green-home tours, a tactic that is helping generate new business, DeChesere says. “People are pretty quick to understand and be impressed.”
Katy Tomasulo is Deputy Editor for EcoHome.
By: Katy Tomasulo
After his parents moved into a retirement community, Jay DeChesere, AIA nearly sold their Wilmington, N.C., home of 20 years. Instead, he opted to transform the shed-roof house into a living laboratory for green building, and in doing so recorded 113.5 points in the LEED for Homes program, one of the highest ever achieved by a remodel.
The gut rehab expanded the 1,230-square-foot ’80s-era structure to 1,648 square feet, largely by converting the garage into living space and then adding a carport. To make the home a true demonstration project, DeChesere approached vendors for discounts and formed a design team to pre-plan various scenarios and determine the most sustainable options.
The charrettes included an eco broker from Suntrust bank who provided advice on how certain decisions might impact the opinions of buyers and the dwelling’s resale value, including how to help outsiders understand the purpose of the property’s limited turf area, whether a green roof would be well-received, how to best orient the new open floorplan, and what was the most marketable number of bedrooms for the size (three).
A key concern of the broker, for instance, was that the garage-turned-home-office in no way resemble its former self. One area where the team ignored resale rules was converting the fireplace into a skylight shaft with an entertainment center below. The risk paid off, as DeChesere says it’s been one of visitors’ most talked-about features.
Once overall design decisions were made, the team went all out, jumping at every opportunity to make sustainable selections, including a 3-kW 14-panel solar array (ground-mounted in the backyard because the existing roof did not offer optimal positioning). Excess power is sold at one-and-a-half times cost to NC GreenPower, a non-profit that uses the energy to supplement the state’s existing power supply; power is also sold to local utility, Progress Energy. Selling the excess kilowatts eliminated the need for storage, DeChesere says, and should help pay the PV system off in six years.
Blog Sponsor- GarageDoorNorthCarolina
When you think of green products for your home your first thought was probably not the garage door. A new website, Garage Door North Carolina may change that. Your garage door is one of the largest moving parts on your home and important part of energy conservation. Why not own a garage door that is made from sustainable products and will not have to replaced as often as a wooden garage door? For more information on your next garage door in North Carolina please visit their website at ww.garagedoornorthcarolina.com
“The whole issue was to make it a demonstration project to show to the public all the strategies available,” explains the architect, who says the team viewed it like taking a dinner menu and sampling each dish.
With that in mind, the house also includes a geothermal system, solar water heating, a green roof, and water reuse for toilet flushing.
But it wasn’t all about flashy products—greening the home started with evaluating the existing envelope. After the crew stripped the house down to the studs, they found that the original builder had used, in addition to fiberglass batts, a 3/4-inch foam insulation board with a vinyl vapor barrier on the outside of the wood studs, creating a thermal break that reduced or eliminated heat/cold transfer through the studs and also provided a natural air seal and some additional R-value. When compared to a foamed-in-place insulation, the wall was almost comparable and with the additional cost considered, it made more sense to leave the batt insulation in place.
The attic's existing blown-in insulation had settled to R-5. The Energy Rater modeled the home with an R-30 blown-in attic insulation and a radiant barrier versus a foamed-in-place insulation at the roof and found that there was very little difference in the required HVAC system, so little that the additional cost of foam, again, did not make sense.
The remodeled house achieved a HERS rating of 28. Per a blower-door test, the final leakage ratio was 0.21; the final leakage ratio for the duct-blaster test was 0.23.
The crew diverted 91% of waste, including reusing wood studs, donating and recycling materials, and diverting drywall and wood scraps into lawn supplement or mulch. The design team had planned to keep the five-year-old insulated vinyl siding, but when some of the material got stripped off during construction, the remaining panels were sold on Craigslist and replaced with pre-painted fiber-cement from James Hardie.
Among the home’s other conservation-minded features:
*
Occupancy sensors
*
LED and CFL lighting
*
Energy Star-rated fiberglass Pella windows with Low-E4 glass
*
Energy Star-rated Whirlpool appliances
*
85% of rain falling on the roof is collected for irrigation and toilet flushing
*
Zone-controlled and rain-delay-controlled irrigation
*
American Standard low-flow showerheads and lav faucets
*
Toto 1.28-gpf toilet; American Standard dual-flush toilet
*
Icestone recycled-content bathroom countertops
*
Reuse of all studs from demolition
*
Locally harvested and manufactured wood products; FSC-certified lumber where appropriate
* Concrete driveway reused as sidewalk pavers
*
Fresh-air system
*
MERV-13 filters
*
Low- and no-VOC finishes
*
Non-toxic pest control
*
Concrete countertops made with 40% recycled content
Though he admits the house features more elements than some clients are willing to pay for (after all, the goal was to experience and showcase as many sustainable features as was practical), DeChesere sees opportunity in showcasing the possibilities and appreciates the lessons that owning the decked-out dwelling provide him as an architect.
“This whole thing is a demonstration in the fact that we can live here and make recommendations for the client,” he says. Experiencing the products first hand helps him spot durability issues for new materials or learn nuances of technologies like the solar hot water system, advice he can pass along to future clients installing the systems.
As part of the demonstration goal, the home was (and continues to be) featured on solar and green-home tours, a tactic that is helping generate new business, DeChesere says. “People are pretty quick to understand and be impressed.”
Katy Tomasulo is Deputy Editor for EcoHome.
Green Home Tour In Hendersonville
The tour, scheduled from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 21, will showcase some of the area’s finest energy efficient homes and some commercial structures.
Specially included this year is an ongoing workshop on solar panel technology by Advanced Thermal Solutions, a Hendersonville-based solar company.
A growing number of residents in Henderson County and neighboring areas are building smarter by decreasing the impact their homes have on the environment, says David Weintraub, executive director of ECO. With numerous tax incentives offered by the state and federal governments, he adds, it has become easier and much more economical to be green.
The tour will feature homes and businesses that have been designed or retrofitted to implement sustainable practices that use local materials, conserve energy, ensure healthy air quality and work in conjunction with the land.
ECO hopes the tour will enhance the understanding of the “home as a system” and how area residents can work together to achieve a more comfortable and green result.
Founded more than two decades ago, ECO has been working to educate and advocate for the protection of our land, air and water, our most precious resources.
“In years past, turning one’s brown home green was a luxury,” says Weintraub.
However in this economy when energy costs are expected to continue to skyrocket, adding green features to one’s home is an absolute necessity. ECO’s tour offers some great examples of how anyone concerned about energy costs and protecting the environment can take some positive steps forward.”
The tour will feature five green homes that showcase solar thermal, photovoltaic cells, geothermal systems and water conservation features. An ongoing solar workshop will also be offered.
Blog Sponsor- GarageDoorNorthCarolina
When you think of green products for your home your first thought was probably not the garage door. A new website, Garage Door North Carolina may change that. Your garage door is one of the largest moving parts on your home and important part of energy conservation. Why not own a garage door that is made from sustainable products and will not have to replaced as often as a wooden garage door? For more information on your next garage door in North Carolina please visit their website at ww.garagedoornorthcarolina.com
Many of these homes offer edible gardens, goat farms and other beautiful outdoor features.
Tickets may be purchased online at www.ecownc.org, at the ECO office at 121 Third Ave. W., or at the Hendersonville and Asheville Visitor’s Centers or at the ECO booth at the Southern Energy and Environment Expo (SEEEXPO).
For more information, contact ECO at 692-0385 or at www.ecownc.org.
The Green Home Tour is sponsored by the Hendersonville Home Builders Association, See Expo (www.seeexpo.org), Surya Fertilizers, Wild Birds Unlimited — Hendersonville, Green By 3, Ken Gaylord Architecture and Matthew J. Foss.
http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20100808/ARTICLES/8081010/1170?p=2&tc=pg
Monday, August 2, 2010
North Carolina Green Home Owners Installing Geothermal Heating Systems
WINSTON-SALEM — Due to a tax credit being offered by the federal government, more people are checking out geothermal heating and cooling systems to find out if it is right for them.
A Geothermal system uses the grounds temperature to heat and cool buildings. Coils deep in the ground filled with liquid adjust to the ground temperature, which in North Carolina is about 58 degrees. The system absorbs the temperature from the coil and distributes it through the building.
The system has a lot of upfront cost on installation, but can cut your energy bills drastically. For homeowner Bob Boone, installing a geothermal heating and cooling system was all about economics.
“It's not very popular right now, because of the expense but you know with some of the tax credits that are going on with the federal government and energy costs continuing to go up it's something that I think will be considered more in the future,” said Boone.
Johnny Armstrong, general manager of Blaze Air, said that in the beginning a geothermal system will cost two or three times more than a traditional heating and cooling system. However, there is the special tax credit being offered through 2013 to consider that will narrow the price gap considerably. Once a person factors in the savings on their utility bills, Armstrong said a person could see a savings of up to 70-percent.
For Boone, the benefits outweighed the negatives.
“I think the way energy costs are going I think you'll see them, more of them installed over the future,” said Boone.
A Geothermal system uses the grounds temperature to heat and cool buildings. Coils deep in the ground filled with liquid adjust to the ground temperature, which in North Carolina is about 58 degrees. The system absorbs the temperature from the coil and distributes it through the building.
The system has a lot of upfront cost on installation, but can cut your energy bills drastically. For homeowner Bob Boone, installing a geothermal heating and cooling system was all about economics.
“It's not very popular right now, because of the expense but you know with some of the tax credits that are going on with the federal government and energy costs continuing to go up it's something that I think will be considered more in the future,” said Boone.
Johnny Armstrong, general manager of Blaze Air, said that in the beginning a geothermal system will cost two or three times more than a traditional heating and cooling system. However, there is the special tax credit being offered through 2013 to consider that will narrow the price gap considerably. Once a person factors in the savings on their utility bills, Armstrong said a person could see a savings of up to 70-percent.
For Boone, the benefits outweighed the negatives.
“I think the way energy costs are going I think you'll see them, more of them installed over the future,” said Boone.
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