The non-profit organization Habitat For Humanity has built another super-efficient house, which has received the highest LEED rating, LEED Platinum for homes. The 1,340 square foot, 3 bedroom and 2 bathroom, 1.5-story single family home, called the Westford House, is located in Westford, Massachusetts. The house has an estimated savings of roughly 40% over a similar more traditional home, which come to an estimated $1295 per year. The additional initial investment for making this home so efficient was $10,000.

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Architect Virge Temme of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin recently received the LEED Platinum for Homes certification for a private residence she designed near Gills Rock. The home was built by Bay Lakes Builders, and the plans were based on the collaboration of all members of the construction and design team so as to ensure proper integration of all systems. The electric and fuel bills for this 2,600-square-foot house were less than $30 per month on average during its first year. This is only the seventh home in Wisconsin to receive the LEED Platinum certification.

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The house at 335 Freyling Place in Michigan is the 300th Habitat for Humanity of Kent County to achieve the LEED Platinum certification. The 1,519 square-foot, two-story home was designed by Image Design of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and is currently occupied by Karen Libbette and her five children. The house has also received the GreenBuilt Michigan Gold certification and is ZeroStep and 5+ Energy Star certified. The home has a HERS Score 34.

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Charles Pickering, the founder and CEO of architectural and engineering firm Pickering Associates, recently received a LEED-Platinum rating for his project at 12 Faith Meadows in Williamstown, WV. This is the first LEED Platinum certified home in West Virginia, and boasts of 11 kWDC of generation capacity. The solar system is located in an optimal array on the house and garage roof, and provides all the energy usage needs for the household, with some to sell back through the power grid. The house received a LEED Point Score of 113 and a HERS rating of .43.

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Marc Rutenberg, the CEO of the Florida company Marc Rutenberg Homes, has recently successfully designed and built a luxury home that complies with and even surpasses all Energy Star standards and is LEED Platinum certified. The Castaway III, as the house is called, measures 4,552-square feet, which is about 3,100 square feet larger than the average zero-energy home. This house proves that there is no need to sacrifice comfort and luxury to reduce one’s carbon footprint.

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In 2011, the Denver chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) partnered with CAD-1, Inc. to administer a design-build competition for a home that would be built for Blue Spruce Habitat for Humanity in Kittredge, Colorado. The winning design of a duplex was submitted by Molly Blakley, Assoc. AIA; Alan Ford, AIA; Kathy Ford, AIA; and Matt Weaver, Assoc. AIA, with Alan Ford Architects P.C. as the Architect of Record.

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