Nonprofit will get funds to build 'greener' homes
Some of Salt Lake Valley's lowest-income residents will have the opportunity to buy inexpensive, environmentally friendly homes, thanks to an effort launched this month by nonprofit housing ministry Habitat for Humanity International and Home Depot.
The "Partners in Sustainable Building" program, initiated by a $30 million donation from Home Depot, aims to cover extra expenses incurred by Habitat while building "greener" homes, as well as train Habitat affiliates nationwide to make environmentally friendly choices in their construction and materials.
The program is being tested by 30 of Habitat's affiliates, including the Salt Lake Valley Habitat for Humanity, which will construct five homes on a parcel of land of 2820 S. 7440 West in Magna and two town homes at 1077 W. 1610 South in Glendale.
After construction is completed, the program will reimburse Habitat affiliates between $2,000 to $4,000 for the added expense of making the homes more environmentally friendly.
How much the affiliates receive depends on whether the homes meet Energy Star certification, which calls for the use of energy-efficient fixtures and appliances, or an even higher standard of environmentally friendly construction, such as homes that qualify for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification.
A national rollout of the program is planned for next spring, with agoal of building 5,000 energy-efficient and sustainable homes over five years.
In choosing participants in the pilot program, "we tried to get a good sample of everyone," said Kevin Gobble, Habitat's sustainable building and design specialist, who explained that selected affiliates come from a range of climate zones, are in both rural and urban areas and have varied backgrounds in sustainable building.
"Salt Lake Valley was selected because it's a great organization," said Fred Wacker, director and chief operating officer of the Home Depot Foundation and manager of the pilot program.
"It's in one of the climate zones we wanted to test, and they really wanted to go beyond just the Energy Star certification," he said.
In fact, according to Habitat for Humanity Salt Lake Valley executive director Stella Allen, the Salt Lake Valley affiliate has a history of earning Energy Star certification, a measure of energy efficiency in homes.
Many of the greener construction changes under the national pilot program will be relatively minor. Houses built in Utah will use heat-retaining insulation and windows, be outfitted with water-saving plumbing devices and employ a secondary "gray" water system for gardening.
In addition to benefiting the environment, Allen hopes that the green construction will ease utility and maintenance costs for residents of the homes.
"Our families earn on average $18,400 [yearly] for a family of four," she said. "A hike in utility costs means they can't afford things.
"When you are looking at saving money to feed your family, to get to work - the things that we all do - having a home that's energy-efficient really makes it possible to utilize the limited funds that people have in a better way."
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