The EarthCraft Home

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

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.

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.