Check out the story behind the Green Life Smart Life project, featured in this year’s “Green Living Begins at Home” panel. Meet Kimberly Lancaster live in New York on February 25!

Green and Tech in Perfect Harmony

The Rhode Island-based Green Life Smart Life project is an expression of one family’s aspiration to prove that green living and technology could co-exist. The home reflects their desire to capture the incredible views of Narragansett Bay and the Newport Bridge, their dedication to integrated sustainable design that included durability measures to handle the harsh weather elements of New England, and their insistence on smart home technology that enabled them to live in a high-tech, high-touch, entertainment-driven environment.

Quest for LEED

The homeowners were dedicated to building the home to achieve LEED for Homes certification, and despite the home’s impressive 4529 sq/ft of living space, the home achieved 92.5 points. From energy management to water conservation and from high performance building techniques to a systematic waste management plan, the builders and subcontractors worked together every step of the way to bring Gold certification to this home.

“When we embarked on this project we believed green living and a tech lifestyle could exist, but what we found was that technology will help us be more energy efficient, more connected and smarter in the way we will live in our home,” said homeowner and Green Life Smart Life founder Kimberly Lancaster Hageman. “We are not saying everyone has to do all of this, but everyone can do something. We found a way to make technology thrive in a green home.”

Strategies and Results

The home was stick built and framed using FSC sourced lumber whenever it was available, FSC-certified white cedar shingles flanked the home’s exterior, with Versatex specified for all eaves, trim and moldings for their long life in the salt ridden air. Being built in a 120-mph coastal wind zone, the homeowners selected Pella’s Hurricaneshield windows for both their impact resistance and their ENERGY STAR ratings. With soy-based spray foam insulation filling the building envelope the home received a HERS rating of 58 to make it ENERGY STAR.

After an incredible amount of research, the homeowners settled on a five-zone geothermal HVAC system, including a dedicated heat pump for the wine cellar. The system also included dual water tanks for holding hot water, two Environmental Recovery Ventilators, and a water pump for diverting water from the well to the 5000 gallon rainwater harvesting system should their not be enough rainfall and eliminating any exterior municipal water for irrigation.

 Interior finishes include 200 year old reclaimed barnwood floors, a wine cellar with racks made from the reclaimed Point Judith County Club deck, recycled countertops, sinks and tile, low-flow plumbing fixtures including 1.0 gpf toilets, 1.75 gpm showerheads and 1.5 gpm faucets. The home also features locally-made FSC cabinetry and zero VOC paints and finishes. Wood scraps were used to make the custom closets, shorter floor boards were relegated to closet sections and even the lavette sink was crafted from leftover materials, but you’d never know it.

One of the unique attributes to the project was the complete integration of smart home technology to monitor and control every subsystem in the home. The homeowners worked with an electronic systems contractor, Robert Saglio Audio Video, to design and layout the home for the ultimate in today’s connectivity needs. Designed to the CEA’s TechHome Rating System Platinum standard, the home includes Control4 for integrated management of HVAC, irrigation, Lutron lighting control, security, energy monitoring, and state-of-the art entertainment. Combining innovative technologies with an energy management system, the home maintains a connected lifestyle while conserving energy.

The Nantucket style home with its beautiful built-ins and soft sea-glass hued colors started its design more than three years ago and, in 2008, became the first non pilot registered LEED for Homes project in the state – and the first to receive the Gold certification. The finished home is an eloquent marriage of technology and sustainable design that reflects one family’s lifestyle, but shares visions for any home – to be safe, comfortable, sustainable, healthy and connected.

 Architect: Laura D. Krekorian
Builders: Merchant Construction, Smith Ingram
Custom Millwork: Pearson Woodworking
Landscape Architect: John Carter & Co.
LEED Provider: Conservation Services Group
Systems Integrator: Jeff Mitchell, Robert Saglio Audio Video
Geothermal System Design: Newport Geothermal
Mechanicals and Plumbing: Reddy Piping
Structural Engineer: Coastal Engineering
Photographer: Ashley Daigneault
Marketing/PR: Caster Communications, Inc.
Owners: Joe and Kimberly Hageman