Walking by Carl Seville’s house in the Druid Hills Historic District, you’d have a hard time pinpointing what makes it different from the other homes on the street. Built around 1918, the beautiful exterior of the home has a similar feel to some of the other historic houses in the area. In the case of the Seville home, however, it’s what’s inside that counts. Last summer, the house underwent major renovations that transformed it from a regular home into a healthier and more energy-efficient one—it became an EarthCraft House.

GREEN BUILDING
Seville was one of the founders of EarthCraft House in 2002 as part of the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association. The green renovation program, which is the first of its kind in the country, helps contractors turn a regular house into a much more energy-efficient and healthy home that meets the highest standards of sustainability.

With EarthCraft House involved, a contractor is provided with comprehensive training, plan reviews and site inspections, and each completed renovation is tested by qualified inspectors, ensuring that the home meets EarthCraft certification standards. “I’ve always tried to incorporate energy-efficiency into my work, and now there’s a way to teach others to do it,” says Seville, former vice president of the award-winning Atlanta remodeling firm SawHorse Inc.

Seville had planned on remodeling his home since the family moved in several years ago. Then, last year, a tree fell on the back of the home, causing extensive damage. “We were already planning to remodel; the tree just helped accelerate the process,” Seville says. So with the help of SawHorse, Seville set out to create a healthy, earth-friendly haven for his family, which was featured as a highlight of last year’s Southern Building Show. “Building a green house isn’t really that difficult,” Seville says. “You just have to get it right.”

So what’s it really like inside an EarthCraft House? Energy-efficient—from the ground up.

A TIGHT SEAL
One of the best ways to make a home energy efficient is to make sure everything is properly sealed. Throughout the home, foam insulation keeps air from leaking into or out of the house. “It’s really important to insulate attic and basement spaces too,” Seville says. “A lot of people have uninsulated attic space, and they lose a lot of efficiency that way.” New, well-sealed windows with low-E glass also help keep the home cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

Keeping moisture out is also important. A housewrap with flexible flashing tape provides a drainage plain on the exterior of the home, and the basement is protected, too. “The crawl space is thoroughly sealed to keep moisture out,” Seville says. A thin plastic cover, sealed at the edges, guards against unwanted water and mold.

HEALTHY LIVING
“What appeals to many people about an EarthCraft House, even more than the efficiency, is the health factor,” Seville says.

Aside from preventing moisture in the home, another way to keep the house healthy is to make sure it stays clean. A central vacuum system, with openings throughout the house, makes it easy to keep things dust-free. “The vacuum is much stronger than a regular one, and it sucks excess air out of the house so dust doesn’t have time to settle and build up,” Seville says. When you want to sweep the kitchen floor, for example, all you have to do is brush debris into the central vacuum opening on the floor—no messy dustpans or vacuum cleaner bags.

High-quality air filters are also used throughout the home to keep the air clear, and low VOC paints on all the interior walls and trim keep the home free of harmful chemical emissions.

Seville didn’t want to ignore pest control, so a Bora-Care treatment was applied to building materials, while a Sentricon system outside helps keeps termites away. “They both provide great protection without releasing tons of toxic chemicals into and around the house,” Seville says.

HOT AND COLD
Waiting for water to heat up so you can take a shower or wash your hands wastes both water and energy. That’s why this EarthCraft House has tankless water heaters on each floor. “All you have to do is press a button and you get instant hot water,” Seville says. In the master bathroom, a wireless remote controls the water—press the button from the bedroom when you get out of bed, and the hot water will be ready when you turn on the faucet.

Not having a conventional water heater has safety benefits as well. “There’s no open flame in a tankless system, so there’s no risk of carbon monoxide poisoning,” Seville says.

Temperature regulation is also important. “We have separate thermostats in different zones throughout the house, even on the same floor,” he says. That way, the downstairs bedroom can be warm and cozy at night without heat being wasted in the empty kitchen and living room.

THE RIGHT STUFF
For the entire house to be as efficient as possible, it’s important to include energy-saving appliances and fixtures. “All of the kitchen appliances are ENERGY STAR approved,” Seville says. This means that they are all highly rated for efficiency, as are the washers and dryers.

In the bathrooms, high-efficiency fans prevent moisture buildup. And because they’re set on timers, you don’t have to worry about wasting energy by forgetting to turn them off.

Since they’re connected to the tankless water heaters, the sinks, showers and tub already contribute to the efficiency of the house. But the toilet cannot be forgotten. In the master bath, the toilet has two buttons for separate flushes (one for liquid waste and one for solid) so no water is wasted.

LIGHTEN UP
Lighting is one of easiest places in a home to save a little bit of energy. In the Seville home, compact fluorescent lights are used throughout. They use about one-third the electricity of standard light bulbs and produce less heat, which means lower cooling and electricity bills.

“Switching out even just a few lights in your home can have a huge impact on the environment,” Seville says. “If everyone did this, we could eventually eliminate the need for power plants.”

Another way to save a little on lighting is to use all the natural light you can. In the Seville home, a skylight over the open staircase brings daylight to both floors of the home, while smaller skylights in the windowless laundry rooms reduce the need for electric lighting during the day.

RECYCLE AND REUSE
The outside of the home is built for efficiency and durability as well. “The back porch is made of fiberglass and plastic,” Seville says. “There are so many great new materials that look natural but are built to last longer than wood.” Floor-to-ceiling screens make the porch look open while still keeping out bugs and debris, and a fireplace keeps the space cozy and warm. “Fireplaces are much more efficient outside than they are inside,” Seville says. “The back porch is one of my favorite parts of the house.”

The garage behind the house is also brand new. So how did such a major remodel take place without creating a lot of waste? “We did tons of recycling on the job site,” Seville says. Any extra wood was ground up and used to prevent erosion around the site, while old tiles and brick were ground up to use as a base under the driveway. Old fixtures and appliances were donated wherever they were needed. “We gave some of the old cabinets to a neighbor, and lots of other stuff was donated to Habitat for Humanity,” Seville says.

GOING GREEN
The great news about green building and the EarthCraft House program is that it’s not too difficult to do, and earth-friendly building projects are on the rise. “This is the next frontier in remodeling,” Seville says. “We’re on the cusp of something great. It’s going to take some time, but in five, 10 or 15 years, this will be what people are doing.”

Many homes now are being built to fulfill EarthCraft House standards—but don’t feel like you have to move into a whole new house to make some changes. In the case of the Seville home, a remodel worked wonders. “The idea behind an EarthCraft House works especially well in homes that are already there,” Seville says. “Sustainability is the key to an energy-efficient home, and remodeling is inherently sustainable, because you’re basically recycling and reconfiguring what already exists.”

Cost is of course always a factor, but with an EarthCraft renovation, the payback can be huge. “None of the things we did to make the home more efficient were phenomenally expensive,” Seville says. So how much has he saved? It’s hard to tell for sure (it’s been less than a year since the renovation), but he’s noticed a 15 percent raise in his electric bill, which is nothing considering he doubled the size of the house. Over time, even more savings will become evident. And remember, not all the benefits can be measured monetarily. Not only does the Seville family have a healthier home environment, but they’re also helping to contribute to the earth’s health—and that’s something no one can put a price on.