Wildhorse Ranch: Green Building Beyond the Standards
by Mark Day AIA, LEED-AP, Principal, Dahlin Group Architecture Planning
The core of the Wildhorse Ranch new community proposal is its sustainability plan and commitment to reduce on-site greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 90% from the typical emissions from a Davis home of 5.5 metric tons (MT) down to 0.5 MT.
To achieve this, the homes in this community will employ a number of measures to reduce energy demand and/or produce clean solar power to meet the needs of the homes in the community. Designs that take advantage of passive solar opportunities, high efficient HVAC systems, photovoltaics on each home, and use of Energy Star appliances will all contribute to the sustainable commitments made by Parlin Development for this community.
Questions have been raised regarding the true sustainable nature of this proposal with some suggesting that this project is just “green wash” and if it were so sustainable why isn’t it LEED certified.
The simple answer is that until just recently, LEED did not have a residential standard by which projects are measured. Further LEED is a private, third party rater of the energy efficiency of buildings much like the Build it Green program adopted by the City of Davis in its Green Building Ordinance. Build It Green’s green building guidelines, policies and programs are intentionally crafted to be consistent and complementary with California’s energy and water utility programs, building and energy codes, and reputable national green building programs such as ENERGY STAR® and LEED.
Because Build it Green was founded to provide a rating system specifically for homes built in California, the City adopted this program for use in rating new homes built in Davis. Both programs provide standards for energy efficiency, site and land use efficiency, water conservation and building materials and systems. Since the City of Davis is requiring the use of Build it Green it is the appropriate program to measure the homes to be built at Wildhorse Ranch. In the City’s Green Building Ordinance it states that homes less than 1500 square feet in livable space must achieve a minimum 70 Build it Green points and homes between 1500 square feet and just under 2500 square feet must meet a minimum 80 Build it Green points.
For comparison purposes the minimum points required to achieve a Build it Green rating is 50 points so the City’s policy requires a minimum 40% to 60% improvement over the minimum standards. Based on the sustainability plan for Wildhorse Ranch, the homes at Wildhorse Ranch will achieve a minimum of 150 Build it Green points.
Parlin is confident that the actual points will be even higher than this figure once the site plan and home designs are determined and presented to a Build it Green Rater where innovations in the site plan design, home orientation, interior wall and flooring finishes are determined and other features can be added to this total. With its substantial commitment to creating a truly sustainable community and the most energy efficient new homes in the region, Parlin Development’s plans are triple the minimum Build it Green threshold and are double what is required of new homes built in the City of Davis.
