Students from the Lancaster County Career and Technology Center (LCCTC), along with their Building and Construction instructors, have been building quality homes as their applied learning project every year for the past 17 years, and this year’s class of more than 200 students is no exception — except they are building “green.”

The term “green building” is tossed around to the point that many people who are not in the building industry are baffled by the concept and don’t fully understand what it is and how they can work “green” into their own homes.

To educate the up-and-coming work force, along with existing builders and the public, students and instructors from LCCTC/Brownstown campus are going to build four houses using “green” technology and techniques.

Green, or sustainable, building is the practice of creating healthier and more resource-efficient models of construction, renovation, operation, maintenance and demolition. Research and experience increasingly demonstrate that when buildings are designed and operated with their lifecycle impacts in mind, they can provide great environmental, economic and social benefits, according to the Environmental Protection Agency Web site.

LCCTC was selected as one of about a half dozen PATH (Partnership for Advanced Technology in Housing) projects in the country by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Research Center and HUD, according to Doug Lyons, principal of LCCTC Brownstown Campus.

The NAHB Research Center, in Upper Marlboro, Md., conducts testing and research for manufacturers in the industry, and HUD is interested in mainstreaming advanced building practices so homes perform better and operate less expensively, primarily through energy efficiency.

The key to the success of the LCCTC Education Project is the support of the building industry, according to Kim Patrick, special projects coordinator for the LCCTC Education Project.

“There is a lot of expertise around the table at the brainstorming sessions,” Lyons said. “With these sessions, we are not only working with the Research Center and their findings but also how to incorporate those findings into the classroom.”

The first of the project’s four homes will break ground Oct. 3, on land adjacent to the Mount Joy LCCTC campus. “All we are trying to do is broaden the discussion about green building,” Patrick said.

“We’re looking at this like a pilot project,” said Lyons. “We’ll take what we learn to homebuilders and school districts. We are hoping to meet with builders and be able to streamline what they do by sharing what we learn.”

National Energy Education Development project (NEED) is a curriculum program that will help bridge the gap between the academic community and the vocational trade students. “NEED brings a curriculum to local schools teaching them about what the technology kids are doing and the environmental impacts of such things as solar energy and different methods of heating,” said Patrick.

PROJECT PROCESS

This project is being based on the NAHB Green Building Guideline book, which works on a point system. At the end of each green building project, the home will earn a bronze, silver or gold rating.

As Patrick pointed out, designing green is often a tradeoff. Homeowners will prioritize their wishes and must often waive other ideas in order to incorporate their primary “green” interests.

Green building is as much about the design process as it is the build process, Patrick said. Before any raw materials are brought in or any land is cleared, deciding how to situate a building on the property is key to maximizing resources that already exist, such as trees for shade or sun orientation for solar technology use.

As part of the Lot Design, Preparation and Development criteria, the LCCTC property is collecting and recycling storm water and minimizing onsite soil disturbance and erosion.

A rainwater collection system will recycle water from the roof for use in landscape irrigation, the washing machine and toilet.

Patrick noted, too, that the Rodale Institute has suggested working on the soil quality of the site by improving the excavated topsoil, amending it with compost so a higher-quality soil is redistributed around the finished property. The Heavy Equipment students from the LCCTC/Willow Street branch will be involved in the excavation and site preparation.

Bob Fuller, a research engineer at NAHB Research Center, explained that in addition to the rainwater collection system, there is a storm water management plan that works in a permeable pavement in the driveways. Basically, rainwater soaks through the driveway into a gravel layer and back into the ground instead of becoming runoff.

Starting from the ground up, the foundation walls will be insulating concrete forms (ICF), which are polystyrene foam forms. Concrete is poured into the foam cores, providing a well-insulated foundation wall. “The ICFs come in block sections and are stacked like Legos, attached and reinforced with bars,” said Fuller.

Resource Efficiency comes into play when the Optimal Value Engineering (OVE), also known as advanced framing techniques, are adopted. Resources are fewer and longer-lasting, and are often recycled or recyclable, such as metal roofing over asphalt shingles.

“A lot of these things have long term payback,” said Patrick, who is also looking into the reuse of architectural salvage items.

While the NAHB Research Center has tested and proven that some of their alternate building suggestions meet codes, many code officials are not quite comfortable with the change. That, according to Patrick, goes back to the community education part of this project’s big picture.

Fuller said, “We at the research center reviewed the plans and graded it according to NAHB model green home building guide. We then look at all of the green technologies available to us and we made suggestions to provide a more energy-efficient and environmentally sound construction.”

Looking at both the resource efficiency and energy efficiency concerns, Fuller said, “The house will be done in an advanced 2-by-4 wall framing method with a more energy-efficient wall system made up of a sprayed cellulose insulation in the cavities and an exterior 1-inch thick foam board insulation on the outside. It is a very effective wall system that provides a higher thermal resistance,” he said.

“We are pursuing geothermal, and we are having a solar hot water heater installed,” said Patrick.

Thinking “green” when it comes to water efficiency is something that many homeowners do without even realizing they are working within the guidelines. Water efficiency concerns are addressed with the use of efficient sink faucets, shower heads and low-flow, dual-flush toilets, as well as the use of Energy Star water-conserving appliances.

Indoor Environmental Quality involves such concerns as the use of finishes like carpets, glue-free cabinets and flooring that are free from volatile organic compounds (VOC), and how the house is vented.

Patrick pointed out that there is also a continuous air barrier — meaning that the garage is physically separated from the living space — to ensure a quality indoor environment. When a house is more energy efficient, it is much more airtight, so the living space must be well vented.

There are two final criteria to look at under the green building rating system: operation, maintenance and homeowner education, so the homeowner is informed about how to deal with some of the systems that are unique to green technology; and how much of what was done in the name of green building reduced negative impacts on the global environment.

Patrick explained that the home will be open to the public, builders and code officials at two phases, the first being when the house is exposed, the walls are still open and much of the advanced framing and other green design elements are visible, and then, again, upon the completion of the house.


For more information on the building guidelines, including green building and technology information, visit www.toolbase.org.


The project is supported through grants from the National Housing Endowment, the Lancaster County Building Industry Association, the Lancaster County Building Industry Foundation, and the Lancaster County Commissioners Office. Consultation and technical support will continue from groups such as Pennsylvania DEP, the Central Pennsylvania Green Building Association, and the Lancaster County Conservation District.