Logan Square Green Home Vies for LEED Silver and Energy Star Certification
2931 W. Lyndale St.
Location: 2931 W. Lyndale St. Chicago, IL 60647 map
Owners: Sam Park and Mary Raines
Architect: Wrap Architecture
By Selma Haveric
When Sam Park and Mary Raines started building their new home, their goal was to create a place where they could live in comfort and simplicity. With this purpose in mind, they set about creating a three-story, 3000-square-foot dream home in Logan Square.
“Going green wasn’t necessarily a conscious decision for us at first. It just happened,” said Park.
The couple found that the things they wanted their home to be— energy-efficient, durable, non-toxic, and well-ventilated— were also eco-friendly. The Park-Raines residence shows that making many small but sensible “green” decisions can result in a much more eco-friendly home. Park and Raines materials choices include bamboo floors, low flush toilets, and a rain barrel to harvest rain water for re-use for irrigation. The couple’s hope is for the home to last. “We hope that this will be our ‘forever home,’ a place where we can raise a big family,” said Park. They plan to move in early June.
The couple chose a convenient location for a green home in Chicago— just a block away from the California Blue Line stop and within walking distance from two parks and the Milwaukee/California commercial corridor. They were given the $5,000 City of Chicago Green Roof grant for their green roof and the State of Illinois Solar Energy Incentive Program grant for their solar hot water system.
Among the most innovative of the home’s green features is the use of insulating concrete forms (ICFs). According to the Insulating Concrete Forms Association’s website, the use of ICFs results in sturdier, quieter, more energy efficient homes. Instead of being made of wood paneling like traditional houses, ICF homes are built with concrete containing two layers of insulation, and are built to withstand the damages of fire, wind and time. The use of ICF should result in lower heating and cooling expenses.
Other green features include a geothermal heating and cooling system with radiant heat. According to the Geoexchange.org, a geothermal system uses the earth’s temperature to heat and cool homes much more efficiently than a regular system does.
Geothermal systems work in the following manner. In winter, a water solution circulating through pipes buried in the ground absorbs heat from the earth and carries it to the building. Inside the building heat pumps concentrate the earth’s thermal energy and transfers it to air circulated through standard ductwork to fill the interior space with warmth.
In the summer, the process is reversed: heat is extracted from the air in the building and transferred through the heat pump to the ground loop piping. The water solution in the ground loop then carries the heat back to the earth.
The only external energy needed for geothermal heating and cooling is the small amount of electricity needed to operate the ground loop pump and fan. On average, geothermal HVAC systems deliver $4 worth of renewable energy for every $1 spent on electricity while eliminating CO2 emissions.
To further cut down on AC costs, Park and Raines had ceiling fans installed and will keep their windows open, weather permitting, to allow fresh air to circulate through their home and keep them “healthy and happy.”
Park and Raines are seeking EnergyStar-certification, the highest Green Homes for Chicago rating, and LEED Silver certification. To learn more about this project, visit the owner’s website.
Tags: Bamboo flooring, Chicago Green Homes, Energy Star, green roof, Insulating Concrete Forms (ICFs), LEED, Low-Flush Toilets, rain barrel
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