Green Life Smart Life

Green Residential Building Project Debuts Home Sustainability in Rhode Island

Green Life Smart Life is a LEED-H project created by a real family to demonstrate green building and smart technologies in today's home.

Narragansett, RI - December 2, 2008 - Green Life Smart Life^{^TM} is a custom home building project that will demonstrate how homeowners can make eco-friendly decisions that benefit their families and give their homes the technological edge. Designed for a family of four on the beautiful Rhode Island coast, the home in its final celebration will showcase real life applications in green living and design in conjunction with custom electronics that embrace today's smart home technology. Green Life Smart Life will also be the first LEED^®-H application registered in Rhode Island.

Located on a one-acre parcel of land with incredible ocean views, the 4300+ sq/ft home will showcase the latest advances in green building techniques, tools, products, and materials. The family spent one year designing a home that withstands the Northeast corridor's harsh elements and balances the unique constraints of building green and staying on a budget. Innovative technologies were also a priority; automated lights, climate control, and security cameras are tied into one user-friendly system. The family also has one-touch access to distributed music and movies, digital pictures, and video on demand, anywhere in the home.

"Homeowners want to make socially responsible buying decisions when it comes to building or remodeling their house, but there are so many resources and so much misinformation," homeowner Kimberly Lancaster Hageman said. "This is a real home for a real family. It shows how fun and easy it is to make smart decisions and operate a home efficiently without sacrificing comfort, convenience, or original style. Our goal is to show other families how you can make your home high-tech, high-design, and high-efficiency all while being environmentally conscious."

Buildings are responsible for nearly half of the energy used in the U.S. By considering every environmental factor of a real home-from managing energy consumption to creating healthy air-Green Life Smart Life will show homeowners, builders, custom installers, architects, and designers how to achieve sustainability in today's homes.

Green Life Smart Life Goals:

Achieve LEED^®-H (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold Certification through the U.S. Green Building Council
Divert over 80% construction waste from local landfills, use recycled and salvaged construction materials
Reduce water consumption through drought tolerant, native landscaping; harvest and collect rainwater from the roof for site irrigation; high efficiency plumbing fixtures and fittings
Use up to 40% less energy than a traditional home through solar hot water and radiant floor heat
Create smart management of climate control and maintain healthier ventilation and Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)
Demonstrate smart technology using digital connectivity to control automation features like water, energy, and security and digital entertainment content including HD movies and TV, pictures and music

At a time when unemployment rates are hitting record levels, green is a growth industry in the U.S. Analysis shows that green businesses have grown annually during the last four years. Forbes claims that the green building industry is worth $12 billion today while 10 years ago it was unquantifiable. As awareness and early adoption grows in both the design and implementation of green building and technology, sustainable homes will become more cost-effective. The Green Life Smart Lifeinitiative aims to set the benchmark for smart technology, energy efficiency, and sustainable building all on one residential site.

The Green Life Smart Life project is a platform of collaborative strength across vertical markets for select companies to demonstrate their passionate commitment to sustainable business practices and green living. The Consumer Electronics Association is the platinum sponsor of the project and will be a resource for energy management, whole-home connectivity and digital entertainment. Pella Corporation, the 2008 ENERGY STAR^® Partner of the Year in the Windows Category, will debut their new Hurricaneshield^® line of windows which are rated for a 120 mph wind zone. National Lumber, one of only four lumber companies with Chain of Custody lumber from FSC Certified forests in New England, and the only one in Rhode Island, will be the building materials supplier.

Following the expected Green Life Smart Lifeproject completion in 2009, the home will be available for tours and demonstrations. A live blog will provide daily updates from the site, photos, and serve as general resource on green and technology topics.