KIRKWOOD, MO - In this home, the owner will not have to rush home to turn off the sprinklers when a storm is coming. In the "green" home at 336 Wythe House Court in Creve Coeur, the sprinklers receive data from a weather satellite and operate according to the forecasted weather. "If it's scheduled to rain, they won't come on," said Greg Vatterott, president of the home building company Charles F. Vatterott and Co.
The home at Wythe House Court was one of many on the second annual Home Builders Association Tour of Green Homes Saturday, June 21.The tour showcased homes in Chesterfield, Creve Coeur, St. Louis city, north St. Louis County, Kirkwood, Fenton and Eureka. Builders included Hibbs Homes, C.F. Vatterott Construction, Sage Homebuilders, Belcher Homes, TMC Homes of The Meyer Co., Fox Run Builders, Suelmann Group Inc., and Tiger Lily Development LLC.
Homes on the tour have been or are in the process of being locally verified in accordance with the Green Building Guidelines established by the National Association of Home Builders. Tourists learned about the latest green products and techniques from builders, homeowners and suppliers.
Gary Pedersen, owner of the home featured on the tour at 504 Creekside Place in Kirkwood, said his utility bills have been reduced by 40 to 45 percent by using green techniques. The Pedersens duplicated the floor plan from their Eureka home and implemented more "green" techniques on a traditional home. "After building three times, we finally did it right," he said. "My wife, Sharon, is a master gardener, so we're conservationists at heart, and with that, we latched onto the green building."
The home is equipped with rain barrels, which are used to irrigate plants instead of using water from a supplier. Surrounding the house are native plants, which require less maintenance and are more tolerant to the extremes of St. Louis weather. The landscaping is softer than normal turf, which helps to slow down and filter rainwater.
Other green techniques at the home include a GEO Thermal Ground source heating and cooling system, which has no carbon output and no fossil fuels; hardwood floors which help to sustain forests; and high-efficiency appliances which use 30 percent less power and water. "Energy costs are going up, and this is the way to go to save depleting resources," Pedersen said. The million-dollar homes in Creve Coeur were built with distinct features that are green-friendly and energy-efficient.
The Vatterott homes at 336 Wythe House Court and 328 Wythe House Court have been verified under the Green Building Initiative-St. Louis of the Home Builders Association of Greater St. Louis by Laclede Gas. "As of today, we have the most verified green homes by Laclede in the area," said Edward Lott, vice president of sales for Vatterott.
The nearly 5,000-square-foot homes can cost up to $2.5 million, Vatterott said. The homes come equipped with more than satellite-reading sprinklers, but also with ENERGY STAR rated windows, ENERGY STAR labeled mechanical exhaust, and ENERGY STAR labeled appliances. ENERGY STAR is a joint program between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy which aims to help Americans save money and protect the environment through energy-efficient products and practices.
The Vatterott homes also use recycled materials, products that contain fewer components, and locally available indigenous materials. "It's really about the way people think," said Kellee Sikes, who was touring a home on Wythe House Court. "There are simple ways, like using local suppliers so less carbon (from the transportation vehicles) is emitted than if you used supplies from Africa, for example." As manufacturers catch the "green" bug, environmentally friendly supplies are
Source: Kirkwood Webster Journal