After working on the renovation for three years, her new sustainable home, located just blocks away from Fairmount Park, became the city’s first “rehab” to receive LEED Platinum certification from LEED for Homes. Slusher’s project wasn’t initially intended to achieve LEED Platinum credentials, according to Grid Magazine: She just wanted to meet her aspirations for sustainable living in “an inviting, comfortable, well-designed home,” she said.

Slusher has since sold the home, nestled in a residential area two blocks from the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Her experience, however, demonstrates how careful design during home renovations can transformer older, energy-inefficient homes into more sustainable residences.

SmartHome, Sustainable Home

The 1,919-square-foot row house has two bedrooms, two and a half baths, a utility room, a private study, and a separate loft. The spacious kitchen anchors the home and is outfitted with several high-end, energy-efficient appliances, including a built-in coffee maker.

The development of the Internet of Things (IoT) has led to a full array of smart home technologies. Slusher’s retrofit included a Smarthome automation system that controls lighting, heating, cooling, solar blinds, and audio and security systems—all of which Slusher could control remotely through a dedicated app downloaded to her smartphone, tablet, or personal computer.

The smart home system installed in the home includes a full range of personalized settings and programmable operations (such as those offered by the smart thermostat for the home), which allow Slusher to save on energy bills and improve the home’s overall energy efficiency.

The energy-efficiency upgrades didn’t mean Slusher had to hold back on certain luxuries. The master bath, for example, includes several luxury (yet sustainable) features, including a steam room, a beautiful concrete sink, limestone walls, and river rock floors.

Reclaimed Materials

To reduce the embodied energy of the ambitious renovation project, Slusher and her team incorporated different types of reclaimed and salvaged materials. For example, much of the older flooring throughout the home was replaced with a beautiful white oak recovered from an old barn torn down in nearby Ohio. From a big picture perspective, Slusher’s decision to use salvaged wood flooring reduced the demand for lumber on our over-burdened forests; Slusher’s choice also reduced the embodied carbon footprint of the home by using a product from a nearby supplier.

Greening a Row Home

The design and construction team also worked with Slusher to include green—literally, green—spaces throughout the home. Two roof areas planted with vegetation were included in the retrofit, while vines climb up the front of the exterior and the rear garden was lushly landscaped. One roof garden has city views, automated audio and lighting, built-in seating, and a 700-square-foot raised garden bed with a watering system and outdoor shower.

The roof areas also have a built-in outdoor grill for outdoor parties, and a tiny waterfall to fill the patio area with the relaxing sounds of nature. These green spaces provide the homeowner with a unique take on biophilic architectural design and a relaxing, therapeutic green area in which to connect with the natural world.