April is environmental awareness month and to celebrate, EPB in collaboration with TVA have partnered with Habitat for Humanity's Chattanooga chapter, HabiChatt, to construct of the city's 200th Habitat house. The EPB house is the first EarthCraft designed Habitat home in Chattanooga.
EarthCraft is a green building program designed for healthy, comfortable homes that are highly energy-efficient and made from sustainable materials.
"The most environmentally friendly homes are those that do not require much energy to operate," said Harold DePriest, EPB's President and CEO. "We are happy to build a home that uses energy efficiently and is made of sustainable materials."
The homeowner can enjoy lower electric bills due to the design of the house. In fact, she can expect to see a savings of 30-50% in comparison to an owner of a standardized Habitat home.
EPB employees will begin constructing the exterior walls of the house on Wednesday at noon in the Republic Parking Lot located at 1001 Market Street. The home will be located on Scruggs Avenue behind Erlanger Hospital.
This home is the second Habitat house EPB volunteers have constructed. EPB's first Habitat house was based on the standards of Doug Rye, a nationally recognized energy consultant known to have lowered utility bills by as much as 50%. Due to the energy efficient design of the house, the homeowner has enjoyed 37% lower electric bills in comparison to traditional Habitat homes built in the community of Shepard Park.
EarthCraft is a national green building program that serves as a
blueprint for healthy, comfortable homes that reduce utility bills and
protect the environment. For more information, visit www.earthcrafthouse.com.