Green Home’s Technologies Will Be Open to Building Industry

SAN FRANCISCO - Late last month, Green Home Builder Magazine announced that construction on Affordable, Buildable, Certified (ABC) Green Home 2.0 will begin in Walnut, CA. The design team is led by project developer Nick Slevin, publisher of Green Home Builder and supported by Southern California Edison and Habitat for Humanity.

Green Home’s Technologies Will Be Open to Building Industry Architect Manny Gonzalez and his team KTGY Group Architecture + Planning in Los Angeles designed the home. The 2,400-square-foot plan will feature multi-generational living and provide smart home technology, which works together to automate a number of the home's basic systems, including the electrical, lighting, security and communication systems. In material reduction, the studs have been built 2 feet apart instead of the normal 16 inches and are constructed from 2-by-6-inch boards instead of 2-by-4 inch boards, which also allows for more insulation in the walls.

"With the ABC 2.0, we have been able to use new means and methods to achieve a sustainable and economical building, said Saeed Bekam, president Gouvis Engineering Consulting Group. "By using 2 by 6 studs spaced 24 inches apart instead of commonly used 2 by 4 at 16, we were able to provide a better system for both structural resistance to the imposed loads and provide more cavity space for energy efficient design without increasing the cost of construction. We also eliminated the corner studs."

The house also demonstrates that a solar-powered, sustainable home can be built using available and recycled materials. In addition, the home and its sustainability template will show how to achieve net-zero energy use.

When completed, the ABC Green Home 2.0 will be open to the building industry and public for six months to display the home’s green technologies.

"Home builders are looking for ways to compete for buyers in today's much changed U.S home building business,” Slevin said. “Buyers are seeking more efficient, healthier homes. High performance homes represent the intersection of opportunity and growing demand, for any smart home builder paying attention to the evolving housing market. Our ABC Green Homes represent the very best of American design, technology and construction, on an affordable on any lot footprint. These homes represent an ideal template to promote significant and positive change in the sustainable housing marketplace."

After viewing, the home will be given to a disabled U.S. Veteran family through Habitat for Humanity on a lot donated by Walnut.

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