Why Work With Us?

Piedmont Housing works with Viridiant on all our affordable multifamily apartment projects. Viridiant helps us identify sustainable products, advanced building techniques and comprehensive development strategies that assure long term durability and improved energy efficiency. This leads to better buildings with more comfortable living spaces and dramatically reduced utility bills for our low-to-moderate income residents.

We’re appreciating the comfortable, steady temperatures in the house, day and night. No drafts, no sudden changes. The prompt hot water delivery is quite a treat. We rarely hear outside noises. Barking dogs and neighbors’ power tools are the only exception. Otherwise it’s a joy. Our air exchanger appears to trap any fine dust and we don’t get to breathe it – so we’ve been quite healthy since we moved in at the beginning of last July. Our electric bills have been remarkably low – and that’s been a welcome change. Three cheers for Promethean Homes!

Last year I moved into My EarthCraft Certified Home (rating of 61) which is approximately 35% larger than my previous home in Northern Virginia which was built in 2001. Currently I use roughly 30-40% less energy + have an additional child. My family & I have noticed healthy indoor air quality & no temperature changes as you walk through the house. After speaking with a few of our neighbors which live in new homes & co-workers (mix of old and new homes) (none of them have EarthCraft Certified Homes) our utility usage through the very cold months was 20-50% less than theirs – which shows me that the components of an EarthCraft Certified Home work & save money.

We have found the EarthCraft home to be another important benefit. This home is roughly 25% larger than our previous one, yet the heating and cooling bills appear to be less than that from our last home. This was a pretty hot summer and we were pleasantly surprised by the utility bills.

Viridiant is doing more than any other organization as they deal with making residential homes more energy efficient and changing the construction field.

Viridiant staff is always available and ready to answer questions or troubleshoot issues that come up during construction. They understand that design and construction is a fluid process and there are often unique circumstances that need to be addressed quickly and thoughtfully.

We worked with EarthCraft builder Mark Waring last year to build a near net-zero 3,200-square-foot home in Chesterfield County, at surcharge of approximately 5 to 10 percent over current code construction. The entire energy bill for the first 10 months of 2011 totaled approximately $900. With the sale of our Solar Renewable Energy Certificates, our annual energy cost is estimated to be under $500. The home is very solid, still, quiet, comfortable and conventional appearing. We are secure in the idea that we have reduced our annual operating expenses while conserving dwindling resources. Enlightened individual decisions will continue to make the Richmond metropolitan area a wonderful place to live in the years to come.

The last 2 years have been a huge learning experience for me and my team it has also impacted our work practices and product in a positive way not to mention we had a blast.

Just wanted to drop you a quick note and say that yesterday was one of the best presentations we have had at KBS in awhile. Really a great job and some good things to consider in construction and at my own house.

Working with Viridiant since ’06 has been a wonderful experience, the combination of their knowledge about building science and their goal to make the building industry more efficient and sustainable fits with Green Valley Builders core values and best building practices.