Homeowner Builds a LEED Platinum Home following Hurricane Sandy

The plan entailed “deconstruction” of what remained of the 1940’s home (“That earned us a LEED point, as it’s the most sustainable method for removing a structure,” she says), and replacing it with a new, 3,600-square-foot home sited more than 12 feet above sea level. She also aimed for the highest LEED residential rating, Platinum. 

She called her project Sunset Green Home, which also became the name of her energy efficiency, high-performance retrofit, and sustainability strategy consulting business. The town’s tax break provided her with $15,000 over 10 years—more if property taxes increase. Moreover, she now “walks the talk” by having completed her own 3,600-square-feet home that integrates building practices and sustainable strategies that minimize the impact on the environment. The home also incorporates high energy efficiency and superior air quality. “As a LEED-accredited professional,” she says, “I knew what it would take to reach Platinum on this home.” 

Erle and her husband control the LED lighting with Lutron switches integrated into the ELAN home automation system, which also controls the home’s HVAC, security, and entertainment systems. All of the appliances are Energy Star certified. The home minimizes water use with dual-flush high-efficiency toilets, and WaterSense faucets and showerheads. 

Erle adds that she had a sprinkler system installed “because I have an unfounded fear of fire and am risk-averse. It’s also another resiliency and resource-management strategy.” In case of fire, sprinklers get the flames under control and cause less runoff of toxic burnt building materials in the area’s fragile ecosystem.

This meadow, Erle says, “is spectacular. If we had left that area as lawn, we wouldn’t have known how beautiful it can be and how it would attract such a variety of wildlife.” The meadow also gave the project additional LEED points, as did a vegetable garden “that feeds us from May to October. Those are the things that give me the greatest joy.”

Erle also loves her electric bill. “It’s an all-electric house. I have a 5.5 KW solar array that offsets energy use and is incredibly efficient.” When visitors join Erle and her husband, including their three adult children, “people sleep so well, because our ventilation system is like a lung for the house. It’s one of the nicest things about the house. The air is so fresh.” 

Erle and her husband moved into their new home in 2016, after which the project achieved LEED Platinum certification. The home also earned a HERS Index Score of 24. “We built the most resilient home possible to help us weather the next, inevitable next storm,” she says. “Building a new home to LEED standards wasn’t easy, but having the expertise as a LEED AP helped me navigate the process, which was definitely worthwhile. We now live in a resilient, durable, and energy-efficient home created with the environment in mind.”