The last time we mentioned Green Hammer Construction, it was in regards to a nice green renovation, which just so happens to be for sale right now.  These days, the company has just finished building another green home that’s located in West Linn.  The 1,867 square-foot residence is waiting for LEED Platinum certification, an amazing feat even considering the fact that approximately eighteen other homes in Portland have already received the designation.  In some cities, high performance green design and construction is fast becoming the standard.  Here are some of its green features:

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Just a quick jaunt north of Dallas right off of Central Expressway, there's a small community called Urban Reserve.  In Urban Reserve, all the homes are modern and sustainably designed — the minimum standards require Energy Star and a HERS of at least an 80.  This home is just one of several architecturally unique homes in the development.  Referred to as UR 45, the LEED Platinum certified home was designed by Shipley Architects for an executive of the development company, Rick Fontenot.  

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This is the Living Zero Home, which was commissioned by the U.S. Department of Energy and built by All American Homes.  The home was on display in Chicago last weekend and will move to about fifteen other destinations throughout the year, including Louisville, Greensboro, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Dallas, Phoenix, and Denver, among other cities.  The modern demonstration home features a Smart Living System — both an energy management and home monitoring tool — which helps owners save money and provides an alert for potential problems, such as a water pipe leak.  The home includes a number of other green elements, too:

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Update: See the completed Breezeway House and our owner interview.

There’s a new site called Our Passive House, where the owners are documenting the design and construction of the first Passive House in Utah.  It just so happens that I live in the same general neighborhood, so we’ll try to present a follow up article when the home is complete.  Owners Joe and Rebecca, available on Twitter @ourpassivehouse, hired Brach Design, Utah’s first certified Passive House consultant, to design the home.

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When you think of manufactured homes, you might think of the ranch house with vinyl siding that you gingerly pass on the interstate as it travels on the back of a wide-load truck.  You might also think about a LEED Platinum home and imagine a roof spotted with photovoltaic panels, windmill in the front yard, and geothermal dug deep into the ground.  The newest offering from New World Home turns both of these ideas on their heads.

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