Lynchburg Business

To Build an Eco-House: How a Local Initiative is Spurning the Construction of Lean, Green Homes in Our Area

Issue: April 2010 by Megan Norcross in Cover Story, Going Green, Inside The Magazine

As Americans, we have the privilege of living in a country where any material possession is attainable, where food is just a quick drive to the super market away and where it’s “okay” to leave a few scraps of food on your plate. What many of us don’t realize, however, is that those scraps of food and leftover materials don’t miraculously disappear when they hit the trash can—they end up turning miles of plush, green land into hazardous landfills.

Currently, the United States has over 3,000 active landfills and over 10,000 old municipal landfills, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Municipal landfills can accept hazardous waste under federal law. Did you catch that? Right now, in our great country, there are over 10,000 landfills playing host to hazardous material. And we’re letting it all build up. So, say you don’t throw away waste that’s considered “hazardous”—all landfills will eventually fail and leak leachate (the liquid that drains from landfills) into the ground and surface waters, which in turn, flow into nearby lakes and rivers.

While we can’t reverse the damage that has already been done, can we make a difference in the future? That was precisely the question that Scott Elliott, President of Custom Structures, Inc., asked when evaluating the amount of waste generated in his line of work.

“We started digging more into ‘green’ alternatives with the custom homes we design and build for our clients. After researching and learning about Energy Star, EarthCraft and LEED for Homes green rating programs, we decided we wanted to offer high performance, healthier living and smarter homes for all ages and lifestyles,” Elliott explained. “We felt like, if we teamed up with other companies that offer a green solution and have the same goals of doing more for the community’s families, we could produce green homes at a comparable cost to conventional homes being built in Lynchburg and surrounding areas.”

From this idea, the Lynchburg Green Building Initiative (LGBI) was born. The initiative, which works to revolutionize the construction business through sustainable and environmentally responsible planning, design, construction and operation, is the leading contact for those wishing to build environmentally conscious homes and buildings.

Custom Structures has partnered with the LGBI to showcase their Next Generation homes as well as design and build the Eco-House, which will be featured in the Green Building Expo in May. Next Generation homes and the Eco-House are entirely “green” focused—from the selection of the construction site to the materials used to build the home.

“By LEED for Homes program standards, all materials must be harvested or created within a 500-mile radius [of the construction location],” Elliott said. “Since insulation in a green home is one of the most important components, we searched for lumber as close to Lynchburg as possible. We found the source nearby in North Carolina. The Great Room [of the Eco-House] will have exposed post and beam construction. This wood was harvested in Amherst and milled where our team of carpenters will age the beams and install them. These are just two examples of some of the many products we are using in the home.”

Custom Structures currently offers six Next Generation Home plans that will cater to any style preference. Of course, aesthetics are nice but the benefits of a green home are even greater. Cleaner indoor air, tax incentives with the systems in these homes, lower utility bills, using the sun to heat the home in the winter and shading to cool it in the summer, photovoltaic systems to use the sun to save money, water harvesting and, most importantly, being a steward of the environment are just a few of the many reasons why choosing a green home versus a “regular” home is beneficial, according to Elliott.

If you’re not ready to dig up your roots and build another home, Elliott says you have options with your current home.

“If someone has an existing home, they can add more insulation to the attic to reduce their energy bills each month. They can collect water off their roof with rain barrels or by putting in a cistern with a pump to use for maintenance around the house, wash the cars or watering the lawn,” Elliot said.

There are also tax incentives for being considerate of Mother Nature.

“[By upgrading] their heat pump to a minimum 15 SEER, a homeowner is eligible for a $1,500 tax credit if their unit goes out,” he explained.

The Eco-House will be available to the public at the Green Building Expo starting the weekend of May 22 and 23. The house will remain open until August, when it will be offered for sale.

“We are doing this at our expense to educate the public and to prove our passion for change to Lynchburg,” Elliott said.