On Saturday Dorchester residents, Mayor Thomas Menino and State Representative Russell Holmes cut the ribbon at 81 Brent St. to celebrate the completion of the neighborhood’s first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum Certified house.
“We hope to see more developments like this focused on reducing its impact on the environment and creating a safer home, all while saving money on utilities,†said Mayor Menino.
The LEED program rates buildings on their energy efficiency and sustainability and encourages residents to build homes that are not only sustainable but follow the six principals of the program: efficient building material, energy and water efficiency, intelligent design, healthy housing and sustainable landscape.
The building is 45 percent more efficient than the average home, through the use of solar panels, high efficiency insulation and efficient lighting. Because of the solar panels, homeowners Ivan and Cynthia Loesch, are able to sell back some of the energy generated by the solar panels back to NSTAR, earning them their Solar Renewable Energy Certificate.
Along with being energy efficient the house also has a rain water harvesting system which is used to irrigate the landscape surrounding the build.
Head over to the Boston.com for more information; http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/dorchester/2011/08/dorchester_celebrates_first_gr.html
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