Green Built Homes

What is a Gile Hill Green Built Home?
Gile Hill is one of the first LEED for Homes registered communities in New Hampshire. Our homes will be environmentally superior to conventional construction in three major ways:

Gile Hill homes will operate much more efficiently, saving energy and water costs
The homes will be built both to LEED for Homes and Energy Star standards, and employ a range of strategies to reduce homeowner costs:
- Ultra High-Efficiency Integrated Heat and On-Demand Hot Water
- Rigorous Air Sealing Details and EnergyStar Ventilation Fans
- High Insulation Levels (R-21 Wall Insulation and R-49 Attic Insulation)
- Low-E Argon Windows (20% more efficient than EnergyStar requirements)
- Water Conserving Plumbing Fixtures
- Casement windows on two walls of the primary living areas and master bedroom to enhance passive cooling.1
- EnergyStar Light Fixtures throughout the home
- EnergyStar Appliance
Third-party energy modeling for Gile Hill has projected that the homes will use approximately 40% less energy than conventional construction (Home Energy Rating System Index of 60).”2
Homes will employ healthier materials + ventilation to improve indoor air quality
The EPA has found that “for many people, the risks to health may be greater due to exposure to air pollution indoors than outdoors.”3 Gile Hill homes will use the following products and strategies to optimize indoor air quality:
- Installation of Armstrong kitchen and bathroom cabinets certified by the Kitchen Manufacturers Association’s Environmental Stewardship Program and other green interior finishes.
- Very Low or Zero-VOC Paints and Coatings to minimize indoor toxins.
- Green Label certified carpets to ensure they are among the lowest emitting carpet, adhesive and cushion products on the market.
- Range hoods that vent odors and gas fumes out of the homes.
- Thorough post-construction cleaning to remove dust, followed by continuous ventilation for one week to flush the home before occupancy.
The environmental footprint of Gile Hill homes has been minimized by carefully sourcing materials, reusing or recycling construction waste + other strategies. Examples of this include:

Nearly all of the naturally stained white pine wood siding for Gile Hill comes from trees harvested from the site at the start of construction that were milled and treated locally.
The project will feature green flooring products including local Vermont slate, sustainable bamboo, and Green Label certified carpet.
The stone used to build the Gile Hill roads and sub-foundations is being manufactured on-site by crushing the ledge removed during construction.
The site’s stormwater will be treated using created wetlands populated by native plants as opposed to the use of conventional treatment and detention ponds.

Many of the green features will be independently verified during construction by independent environmental consulting firms VEIC and CSG as part of the LEED for Homes certification process.

Green Building Certifications at Gile Hill

Gile Hill is designed to meet stringent green building standards and will be certified by third-party inspections ensuring maximum energy efficiency, healthy indoor air quality and sustainable construction.

LEED for Homes Certification. LEED for Homes is the industry standard green home rating system for assuring homes are designed and built to be energy and resource efficient and healthy for occupants. The program was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council and is intended for high-performance residential construction under four stories. LEED certification ensures that the home you are purchasing was built to the highest standards and will operate efficiently as designed. Gile Hill is currently registered for LEED for Homes certification.
EnergyStar Homes Certification. EnergyStar qualified homes are independently verified to meet strict guidelines for energy efficiency set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. By choosing a home which has received the EnergyStar label, you will have an increasingly valued feature offering an advantage over conventional homes when the time comes to sell.
EnergyStar Indoor Air Package. The EnergyStar Indoor Air Package is a new specification developed by the EPA to address the indoor environment component of green building. It assures that homes are built to resist excess moisture which encourages mold and mildew, to minimize “off gassing” from paints, adhesives and other building products, and to ensure that proper ventilation maintains healthy indoor air quality over time.
EnergyStar Advance Lighting Package. The EnergyStar Advanced Lighting Package is a new designation used to identify homes equipped with a comprehensive set of EnergyStar qualified light fixtures. It requires that new homes contain a minimum of 60% EnergyStar qualified hard-wired fixtures and 100% EnergyStar qualified ceiling fans where installed. EnergyStar qualified lighting uses about 75% less energy than standard models and meet strict EPA guidelines for quality, producing warm, long-lasting light without slow starts or annoying flicker or hum.
EnergyStar Appliances. Every appliance has two price tags: what you pay to take it home and what you pay for the energy and water it uses. EnergyStar qualified appliances incorporate advanced technologies that use 10–50% less energy and water than standard models. EnergyStar qualified refrigerator models use at least 15% less energy than required by current federal standards and 40% less energy than the conventional models sold in 2001. EnergyStar qualified dishwashers use at least 41 percent less energy than the federal minimum standard for energy consumption. An EnergyStar qualified clothes washer can save $550 in operating costs over its lifetime compared to a regular clothes washer.

1. A few homes, due to location, will have fewer windows.
2. Energy modeling projections are estimates, not guarantees of actual operating results.
3. “The Inside Story: A Guide to Indoor Air Quality,” US EPA, www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/insidest.html, 8/27/07 update.