EverClean™ Is Ducting of Choice for New Platinum LEED Home
On November 22, 2007, tragedy struck Al Wallace’s Centennial, Colorado home. It was Thanksgiving Day when a fire broke out, destroying the house. Having been involved in the sustainable building industry for over a decade, including founding the Energy Environmental Corporation, Wallace decided to create something positive out of this disaster and build one of Colorado’s first Platinum LEED homes.
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) provides a benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance sustainable buildings. The LEED for homes rating system measures the overall performance of a home. Points are earned by using products and processes that incorporate recyclable content, energy savings, water savings, and higher indoor air quality. The level of performance is designated by one of four levels – Certified, Silver, Gold, and Platinum – according to the number of points earned.
The unique features that set this home apart from typical green buildings are in the innovative design and installation of Integrated Renewable Energy Systems, which provide hot water, and power to the home as well as space conditioning. Thermaflex®’s EverClean™ flexible duct was installed in the conditioned spaces. Running ductwork, like EverClean, in conditioned spaces further reduces thermal losses and improves heating/cooling efficiency. Integrated systems are the combination of technologies, such as solar hot water and geothermal heat pumps, which complement one another to achieve greater energy efficiency than single systems operating alone. The practice of integrating systems within the home and environment is commonplace in Europe, where energy efficiency practices and building codes are years advanced to US standard building practices. EEC hopes that public education on the environmental and economic benefits of these systems will help advance their utilization within the US.
The combination of passive solar design, a high-quality building envelope, and innovative design of integrated renewable energy systems will result in zero-energy heating and cooling of the home. As a result, EEC’s models predict that this home will be 80% more efficient than typical construction of a similar home of this size. It is one of the first in Colorado to receive a Platinum LEED certification and was the demonstration home for the Energy Star Summit held December of 2008 and 2009 in Denver.
Thermaflex, a global leader in the flexible duct industry, is proud that EEC chose EverClean for their flexible ducting needs. EverClean is respected for its indoor air quality performance as well as its indoor chemical & pollutant source control and low-emitting materials.
For more information, visit www.platinumleedhome.com or call the office of Energy Environmental Corporation at 303-953-2346 or Thermaflex at 1-800-459-4822.