Historic Home Gets LEED PLATINUM MAKEOVER
Everyday Green is thrilled to announce the certification of the first LEED for Homes project in DC. Congrats to Amy Levin and everyone involved in the project, which received ‘LEED Platinum’ the highest certification level from the US Green Building Council.
About the Project:
Project Location: Mt. Pleasant, Washington DC
Certification Level: LEED Platinum
Owner / GC: Amy Levin
Tucked into the tree-lined streets of the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood of Washington, DC lies the city’s first LEED Platinum home, the highest rating possible. Owner and local REALTOR Amy Levin of transformed a rundown rowhome into a multi-unit green home; the accomplishment made all the more impressive because is was a complete gut-rehab in an historic district with strict guidelines on home improvements.
Amy had a vision for going green before she found the property. She recognized the opportunity to turn green building practices into a smart long term investment—lower utility costs, higher rents and a higher resale value. All of these turned out to be true.
Amy’s priority was to minimize the environmental impact by re-using an existing building in an urban area, taking advantage of both the embodied energy of the building and the urban infrastructure, as well as building as energy efficient a home as possible. What she achieved surpassed even her own goals–Amy learned so much from this project that she decided to start her own green business.
Going for LEED
Once Amy found out about the then-pilot version of LEED for Homes, she was put in touch with local LEED for Homes Provider Representative, Asa Foss of Everyday Green. “I found the right program and the right people,” says Amy. “You can’t make a LEED for Homes Platinum gut rehab easy, but Southface and Asa provided the direction and depth of understanding that made the process manageable.”
And of course, she wouldn’t settle for just Gold, she had to go for Platinum.
Benefits of the LEED Homes Process
Levin was pleased with not just the publicity she got for building a LEED Home, but the benefits of having an independent expert paying special attention to many often overlooked details. Asa verified the installation quality of the air sealing, insulation, and HVAC. “He found some issues that would have significantly decreased the energy efficiency of the house; by finding them before it was too late, the installation contractor was able to come back in and quickly fix the problem.”
Levin and her project have been featured in numerous publications including NPR’s All Things Considered and Building Green.com. She has been invited to speak at green events around the country, including green building’s biggest annual event, Greenbuild. She was recently given an Historic Mount Pleasant Design Excellence Award for her project.
In addition, an appraiser valued her rowhome at about 10% higher than comparable properties. She found interested buyers making offers, despite the real estate slowdown and the fact that her property wasn’t even listed. She is currently renting her house at a significant premium because of the improved indoor health, energy benefits, and what Amy calls the “cool factor” of her green home: they just happen to be from Europe.
Because of all of Amy’s smart design and product decisions, 1834 Ingleside Terrace uses only 59% of the energy of a code-built home—an impressive feat considering the space constraints she had by rehabbing a row-house. Her major energy efficiency gains came from the use of Soy-Based spray foam, which provides both insulation and air sealing benefits. The home has high-efficiency heat pumps, low-e windows, and all the ductwork is inside the conditioned envelope of the home. Amy’s home is modeled to have average energy bills of only $130 a month, not bad for a 2,500 square foot house.
