Low-income houses to model "green' techniques

Lynnae Hentzen, executive director of the Center on Sustainable Communities, talks with a reporter outside a vacant River Bend house that will become one of three green demonstration homes. Photo by Duane Tinkey

Low-income houses to model "green' techniques BY JOE GARDYASZ
Building a "green" home, one that's environmentally friendly and energy-efficient, doesn't have to be expensive, says Lynnae Hentzen, executive director of the Center on Sustainable Communities (COSC).

COSC is working with the cities of Des Moines and West Des Moines to build two demonstration houses and renovate a third to serve as "learning laboratories" for contractors, nonprofit housing agencies and the public on green building techniques.

"Not only did we want to make sure that green is out there for affordable homes," Hentzen said, "we also wanted to work with selected agencies that are already building in these neighborhoods."

Hentzen co-founded the nonprofit COSC in February 2005 to provide green building education, with a goal of making sustainable construction a common practice statewide. Funded through grants and other contributions, the organization hosts workshops, green home tours and other educational events.

Home Opportunities Made Easy Inc. (HOME Inc.) will serve as the developer and general contractor for the West Des Moines demonstration house, which will be located in Valley Junction. In Des Moines, Community Housing Development Corp. will renovate a city-owned house as well as build a new one. Both will be located in the River Bend neighborhood on the city's North Side.

The initiative was spearheaded about a year ago by West Des Moines Associate Planner Linda Schemmel and Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie.

"We started thinking about it in our (Mayor's Task Force on Sustainability) and tried to figure out what we could do to demonstrate to people what it's all about," Cownie said. "People think of far-out projects in Popular Science, but we want to show them that in everyday life and in affordable housing that it's possible to build green, to remodel green, to have a more environmentally friendly house ... that costs less to operate, not only on a first-cost basis, but a life-cost basis."

The entire design and construction process will be documented to track the costs of the materials and building techniques chosen. The builders will also conduct workshops during construction to demonstrate various energy-saving building techniques. Once the houses are completed this fall, they will be made available for public tours for several months before being sold to low-income families, Hentzen said.

"We'll have lots of elements identified within the home so you can get a better understanding of what it means to do some of these green things," she said.

Among the financial and in-kind sponsors of the project are the Greater Des Moines Community Foundation, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage and Principal Financial Group Foundation. Also involved are Metro Waste Authority, Gilcrest/Jewett Lumber Co., Menard Inc., Windsor Windows & Doors and MidAmerican Energy Co. Hentzen said $92,000 has been budgeted to conduct the educational portion of the program.

In addition to workshops and open houses that will be scheduled at each house, Cownie said the green building processes will be videotaped and made available on the city's cable TV channel (Channel 7).

Each of the new houses will be worth approximately $150,000, but will be sold for less than that by using low-income housing subsidies.

Greg Moeller, a builder with Hubbell Homes and chairman of COSC's builder advisory council, said many elements of green building are "really common sense," such as properly sizing the structure so that lumber isn't wasted.

The process also considers energy-efficiency details, from properly sizing the heating and air conditioning units to taping the ductwork to reduce air leaks.

"Rising energy costs are an incredible burden to our client base," said Pam Carmichael, executive director of HOME Inc. "So we're looking at what makes sense for the houses and makes long-term sense for our clients."

The nonprofit organization works with low-income families who want to buy homes, and builds between five and 10 houses each year, typically on vacant lots within existing neighborhoods.

HOME Inc. will base the West Des Moines house on a house it built in Des Moines, which will allow comparisons of energy costs.

"One of the things we're looking closely at is (whether to install) a geothermal system on a house this size, because it is a very small unit. It may work on townhomes."

Carmichael said her organization plans to incorporate lessons learned from the first house into a second house it will build next summer.

At the same time, Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity is partnering with COSC to build a green demonstration Habitat house near the Iowa State Fairgrounds. The organizations are working with the current Leadership Iowa class on the project.

The project will be open during construction, but a family will move in immediately upon completion.

"We're hoping this actually takes us to a new level where we can be more sustainable and green for our houses," said Lance Henning, executive director of the Habitat chapter. "We've always been at the front end of standards, and we hope this is going to raise the level of what we're doing."

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