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January 17, 2009
Please join UNLV's Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering to celebrate the Green Homebuilding community of Villa Trieste.
As the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and Pulte Homes join thousands of others from the homebuilding industry Jan. 20-23 for the National Association of Home Builders' International Builders' Show in Las Vegas, they will celebrate the first homes to achieve LEED certification in Pulte's Villa Trieste community, a Northwest Las Vegas community that plans to seek LEED certification for all 185 of its homes.
As much of the housing market struggles, Pulte Homes' public-private partnership, including a $7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, shows how green homebuilding efforts can thrive.
Villa Trieste is taking green building to the next level through a conscientious building design, solar-electric systems and centralized battery storage. Villa Trieste illustrates how innovative approaches to financing, designing and building green homes will help builders rise above an otherwise gloomy economy.
What’s more, with homes in Villa Trieste starting in the low $200s, Pulte is keeping green affordable. LEED for Homes, the USGBC’s internationally recognized third-party green home certification program, gives homebuilders the tools they need to have an immediate and measurable impact on their homes’ performance.
WHO: USGBC, Pulte Homes, and UNLV Center for Energy Research
WHAT: Open house, LEED certification ceremony and plaque presentation for Villa Trieste model homes
WHEN: Jan. 21, 5-7 p.m.
WHERE:
1918 Morro Vista Drive, Las Vegas. Take the I-215 Beltway to Charleston Blvd.; exit West. Turn left on Plaza Centre Drive; then left on Sagemont Drive. Proceed through the round-about. Make a left into Villa Trieste. Shuttle services will be available at the convention center bus loading area at 4:15 and 4:30 pm.
CONTACT: Please call Christine Wallace, (702) 895-3965 if you are able to attend.
The University of Nevada-Las Vegas Center for Energy Research, in partnership with Pulte Homes and NV Energy, received $7 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop the model community, which will significantly reduce peak residential energy demand in the fastgrowing Desert Southwest, helping to reduce strains on the electrical grid that result in higher energy costs and even brownouts and blackouts during the summer months.
The $7 million in grants is part of a total of $50 million awarded by the Department of Energy to seven research projects across the nation all aimed at reducing peak load demand through renewable energy and demand management.
2 of 2 Villa Trieste will take its commitment to efficiency and ongoing affordability a step further, with UNLV researchers monitoring the homes’ performance against simulation models and making modifications as necessary to achieve maximum efficiency. Information gleaned from comparing the homes’ varying technologies will help improve our understanding of green building best practices and lead to future innovations.
Pulte Homes will also be celebrating its 25,000th Environments for Living® home and its 100th Environments for Living® Green Home. About LEED® for Homes LEED® for Homes is a certification system that promotes the design and construction of high performance green homes.
LEED for Homes awards points to projects within seven categories of environmental performance: Location & Linkages, Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Indoor Environmental Quality, Energy & Atmosphere, Homeowner Awareness and Innovation and Design.
A green home uses less energy and water and fewer natural resources; creates less waste; and is healthier and more comfortable for the occupants. To date there are over 1,100 homes that have been certified and over 13,500 that are in the certification process.
USGBC is working with more than 700 local builders and LEED for Homes Providers who are administering LEED residential certification on USGBC’s behalf at the local level. For more information, visit www.greenhomeguide.org.
About USGBC The U.S. Green Building Council is a nonprofit membership organization with a vision of a sustainable built environment within a generation. Its membership includes corporations, builders, universities, government agencies, and other nonprofit organizations.
Since USGBC’s founding in 1993, the Council has grown to more than 18,000 member companies and organizations, a comprehensive family of LEED® green building certification systems, an expansive educational offering, the industry’s popular Greenbuild International Conference and Expo (www.greenbuildexpo.org), and a network of 78 local chapters, affiliates, and organizing groups.
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