Waterfront: January 2007 - A Small Footprint

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Green-built home incorporates Jacuzzi into design.

In response to the pressures of global warming and higher fuel prices, many homebuilders around the country are responding by incorporating green building techniques into their new projects.

LivingHomes, a developer of modern prefab homes, says it has built a zero energy, zero water, zero waste, zero carbon and zero emissions model home in the Los Angeles area, for which it has received a Platinum rating, the highest possible rating from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) — making it the first residential project in the country to do so. Not only focused on the interior of the house, the builder has included a Jacuzzi-made hot tub as part of its outdoor living space.

According to Erica Moir, Jacuzzi's vice president of product development, design and marketing, the hot tub didn't require any special modifications to fit into the home's small ecological footprint. "Our hot tubs feature full-foam insulation, energy-efficient lighting, programmable filtration settings and quality heaters," she says. "Combined with some of our environmentally friendly manufacturing processes, nothing more was needed for our products to fit seamlessly with the concepts behind this project."

In addition to the Jacuzzi, the model home incorporates many other green features, including solar water heating and radiant heat floors, a native landscape and rooftop garden, an integrated storm-water management system, which includes sub-surface irrigation and a 3,500-gallon cistern and gray water recycling system.

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