How two local Chicago home builders are helping to reduce their impact on global warming.

In recent weeks, we've witnessed dramatic weather events. Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma have both been strengthened by warming waters in the Atlantic Basin and the Gulf of Mexico making these storms some of the most destructive in the modern history of North America. The videos of masses of Americans displaced by these storms is heart wrenching, and the stories of the heroes who loaded their vehicles with supplies to deliver care are inspiring.  This will, in time, become a story of innovation and how America bounces back from disaster.

So what does a hurricane in Texas or Florida have to do with home building in the Chicago Area?  The answer is Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions.  Every time you turn on a light, open the refrigerator, or heat or cool your home, you contribute to CO2 emissions. The average American household produces 7.2 Tons of CO2 emissions each year. What if the next generation of homes could produce less CO2?  

This blog will be updated weekly and follow the progress of two home sites in Chicagoland that aim to change the way we build our new homes that minimize their CO2 footprint.  

The first home is being constructed on a vacant lot in the suburban village of Brookfield, less than 12 miles from Downtown Chicago. The home site was a vacant lot, walkable to Metra trains, with plenty of local amenities nearby.  The project plans to build a 4 Bedroom/3.5 bath custom single family home for a client of Beals & Associates. The builder is Brightleaf Homes, a local, experienced home builder, specializing in high performance suburban homes and has many completed projects in Brookfield/LaGrange market area.

The second home is being constructed on a vacant lot, in Chicago's rapidly redeveloping Bronzeville community.  The home is located at 4516 South Prairie, and is part of a series of homes being built on a contiguous string of vacant lots in the 4500 block of South Prairie Avenue, by 5 different home builders.  4516 South Prairie is being constructed by Greenline Homes and will ultimately be a 5 Bedroom/3.5 Bath High Performance home, built on a urban site with an alley in the rear. Greenline is a experienced high performance home builder that has been building in Chicago for the past 14 years. Highlights include a solar photovoltaic system generating electricity on the rooftop.  

Both homes will be built deploying dozens of measures to reduce their CO2 footprint.  We will detail these from the ground up in this blog.