Building An Affordable Green House

Tired of high cooling bills and dreading the big heating bills that come with winter? Some local architects squared off in a competition that is supposed to give all of us some ideas on saving energy. It's called the Sustainable Home Competition and the winning home is almost built.

It's a big day for Cecile Roberts and her family. They are weeks away from moving into the very first home they've ever owned.

“I'm feeling a blessing from God, 'cause I know it's a blessing and I'm so grateful to be here today and be the owner of a new home," Roberts said.

This isn't just any home. It's the winner of the Sustainable Home Competition, which means everything in it is green.

“It's just a very tight, well-insulated, efficient home,” said Sydney Roberts of Southface.

The walls are extra thick filled with spray insulation. Windows are double-paned, filled with argon gas. The roof is reflective metal keeping things cool and tall ceilings and fans keep air moving. The crawlspace is sealed so feet stay warm. There's even a system to capture rain water.
But all of these eco-extras were kept under the tight reigns of an affordable budget.

“It's not about fancy technologies and eco-bling. It's absolutely accessible to any homeowner,” Sydney Roberts said.

Michael Gamble's architecture firm won the design competition.

“The major challenge to us was to provide a sort of above average design for workforce housing in the city,” Gamble said.

Brian Mills is the builder who brought the design into reality.

"Even on a standard home at that price and the quality that we wanted I knew it would be tough, but we worked out the numbers and the details," said Mills.

Two bedrooms, a loft and two bathrooms -- 1,400 square feet of super-efficient living space. All at a cost of $150,000. Proof you can save some green while going green.

The Kandeda Fund sponsored this project and funded the construction. Charis Community Housing picked the Roberts family and if they make 12 months of payments without missing, they qualify for a 20 year interest free loan to pay off the rest.
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