Green house gets gold award
The eighth season of My RONA House ended with a win by the hard-working Landreville-Kérouack family, who now get their home and its furnishings, valued at $350,000. What makes this reality show stand out is that both houses built during the season received their Gold level LEED Canada certification, becoming respectively the first and second homes in Quebec to do so.
Throughout the run of the show, participants and viewers learned about LEED, a system introduced in March 2009 for evaluating eco-responsible homes. To obtain LEED certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), homes must be built with special attention paid to energy efficiency, efficient water use, and indoor air quality.
The houses featured used eco-responsible materials and resources, including lumber and exterior wood sourced from Forest Stewardship Certified forests, low VOC or low urea-formaldehyde-emitting paint, adhesives, waterproofing and other materials, recycled or partially recycled materials, local supply sources, recycled paint, low-flow faucets and shower heads, and 4/6-litre dual-flush toilets. Energy Star-rated windows, home appliances, light bulbs, ventilation systems and air exchangers were also used, while an air exchanger reduced indoor pollutants. Rona’s own ECO line also figured prominently in the build.
Most people don't realize that typically the largest source of formaldehyde in indoor air is the fiberglass wall insulation. LEED doesn't require any testing so I was wondering did they use the standard fiberglass insulation that uses formaldehdye resin?
Posted by: rich | June 17, 2010 at 03:39 PM