Green Building Project leads to Complete Energy Makeover: Homeowners decrease energy consumption by 25% after increasing square footage by 33%
Fran McDermid, a homeowner in State College, PA, knew that she wanted to add an in-law suite to her house. She also knew that she wanted to make the addition as green as possible. She met with a few contractors whose work she liked, and they drafted some drawings for her. Each assured her that they could make any green renovations to the project that she specified, and that they could build the addition sustainably as long as she was willing to educate them on that process. She says, “There seemed to be no shortage of companies that were willing to build green. But I didn’t get the impression that they really knew or understood what that even meant.”
Then she met with Envinity.
Fran recalls, “Right away, I knew that Envinity was different. They were experienced. Sustainable building wasn’t just an afterthought for them. Each of their projects is grounded in energy conservation. With respect to green, sustainable building, Envinity had a level of expertise that none of the other contractors came close to matching. And after looking at some of their building projects, my partner and I were excited to see that we wouldn’t have to sacrifice luxury or craftsmanship in our pursuit of a green addition.”
It all started with an energy audit
Fran says, “The project started with an energy audit. Since we were increasing the size of the house, Envinity wanted to make sure that our water and HVAC systems were equipped to handle the demands that the addition would place on our heating and cooling equipment. They also wanted to make sure that our insulation was sufficient so that the systems in our house would work at peak efficiency. The audit uncovered some problem areas. They insulated our water pipes, put a sweater on our hot water heater, and made some other improvements to keep our house cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.”
She continues, “For the addition, we wanted to build a sitting room, a spacious bedroom, and an inviting, luxurious bathroom on the ground floor of our house. Envinity was able to design a larger master bathroom for us upstairs, and a large walk-in closet directly above the in-law suite.”
The evolution of a green home makeover
Fran recalls, “The original vision was most definitely to create a bright, beautiful addition for my mom that was built with a minimal environmental impact. My mom has discerning, high-end tastes, so materials used and craftsmanship were a priority. As I learned more about green building techniques and sustainable materials that were available, it made me look at the rest of the house from an environmental perspective. I wanted to see how we could renovate the rest of the house in a manner that was healthy for my family and healthy for the environment. The project—and our relationship with Envinity—evolved.”
“We realized that Envinity had the in-house expertise to tackle any green renovation project that we threw at them.” Laughing, she recalls, “And as we became more educated with respect to the benefits of green building, we threw a lot of projects at them.”
Fran says, “Envinity installed wood floor boards, wooden steps, a kitchen renovation, a cistern and rainwater catchment system, a permeable driveway, some garden fencing, a geothermal system, and solar collectors— PV and solar thermal—on our house. Envinity even installed a clothesline dryer and painted our house after the addition was completed.”
She laughs, “Luckily the work crew was extremely friendly and personable—they spent a lot of time with us. When the work was completed, we kind of missed having them around.”
The feel of the completed house
Fran marvels at the craftsmanship of the construction. “Envinity’s carpentry team does 
such incredible work. They cut the wainscoting in the addition by hand. And the work that they did in the bathroom in the addition is really special.”
She continues, “It’s funny. Envinity really educated us on ways that we could lessen our carbon footprint. I remember that originally we wanted to put in bamboo floors because we knew that bamboo was sustainable. Envinity told us that they could put in bamboo if we wanted, but they recommended using knotty hickory instead. The hickory is sustainably grown right here in Pennsylvania and doesn’t have to be shipped from China. They provided us with some samples of the knotty hickory, and we used it for our floors. It is just a gorgeous wood.”
“Envinity put a lot of work into finding local producers of construction materials for our projects. They found a manufacturer of Murphy beds in the next town over, and were able to find the custom door that my mom wanted from a supplier in upstate New York. The wood that they used for our back deck—locust—is local, sustainable, and durable to the point where we don’t have to stain it. We didn’t even know what SIPs (structural insulated panels) were prior to our relationship with Envinity, but we were completely sold on their energy efficiency capabilities.”
Fran says, “Envinity also educated us as to the benefit of maintaining our roof line: the fewer seams you have, the fewer opportunities you have for deterioration or leakage.” She continues, “Instead of using particleboard for the shelves in our closet, Envinity used wood made from pressed sunflower stalks. They were truly invested in building a home for us that was healthy, beautiful, and ecologically sound.”
She says, “The home has certainly surpassed my original vision, and my mom loves her new space. The house is so bright and comfortable. And I’m worry-free with respect to the health aspects of our house. I know that there are no hazardous materials that were used in the construction of our home, and it makes me feel like we’re ahead of the curve. When there’s public outcry over some discovery like the Chinese drywall that causes chronic ailments, we know that we’re not affected.”
The end result
Fran confesses, “I was not necessarily an easy customer. Envinity spent a long time educating me, and they were very understanding with me. I changed my mind a lot, and they were very patient while I made up my mind. At the time that we began the initial work on our house, I didn’t know much about green building or sustainable living—I was certainly not at the point in my understanding where I am now. My relationship with Envinity and with my house really increased my awareness of our energy use and consumption in every aspect of our lives.”
“Since the renovations, our water usage dropped so dramatically that we got a notice from the water company asking if the number of residents in our house had changed. Even better, we were surprised to discover that after we increased the size of the house by 33%, we had decreased our overall energy consumption by 25%. We feel good knowing that our comfortable surroundings do not come at the expense of the environment.”
