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WILTON -- Frank Laskey is like a lot of people -- he's got asthma.
But since he started living in the "health house" built
by Capital Construction Inc., of which he's president, his condition
has greatly improved.
"People really feel better in these houses, especially people with allergies
and asthma," Laskey said, standing outside his Wilton home off Louden
Road. "It's remarkable. It's really reduced my dependency on my inhalers."
Building such homes, which are human-friendly and environment-friendly,
is the whole point of Capital Construction's Louden Ridge community.
"We're one of only five Health House communities in the United States,
and the only one in the Northeast," Laskey explained. "We're certified
as such by the American Lung Association."
Health features
The "health house" designation means Capital Construction
is erecting homes that have better living environments than average
abodes.
"The certification largely has to do with indoor air quality," Laskey
explained. "We're building houses that are not just healthy for the environment,
but for people as well. Today, we build homes so tightly that indoor air quality
is worse than outside air quality."
This fact is the main reason the American Lung Association's
Health House program was started 12 years ago.
"There was a lot of concern that environmental exposures were responsible,
in part, for the rise of asthma cases, but no one was focused on health and
how it related to the indoor environment," explained Robert Moffitt, program
communications director. "We've not done any long-term studies yet, but
we've certainly found that when we do testing in health houses for common allergens
like dust mites, radon, molds and dust, we're not finding them as much."
To help eliminate irritants like these, Laskey had what he calls
a "mechanical lung" machine installed in his basement.
"The mechanical lungs take stale air out and bring fresh air in," he
explained, adding that this continual circulation of air keeps the environment
inside much cleaner and healthier.
Another feature that makes Laskey's home easier on the lungs
is its detached garage.
"Because it's detached, when you open the door to the house, you're not
bringing in all those fumes with you," he said.
A more complicated characteristic of Laskey's home that further
improves indoor air quality is the radiant heat system.
Rather than standard vents that push the hot air -- and dust
-- around, this home's heat is radiated through the floor, Laskey
explained.
It's also a more environmentally friendly option, because it
heats people instead of objects, and this saves energy.
Green features
Other green amenities and construction strategies that make Laskey's
home environmentally friendly include solar panels on the roof
for electricity generation, an energy-efficient boiler and the
use of local building materials.
Local building materials are somewhat green because the vehicles
that bring them to the construction site use less fuel than vehicles
that have to come from outside the region or state, Laskey explained.
"The granite here is from Fort Ann," he added, gesturing to the pillars
outside the front door.
Inside Laskey's home, the light bulbs also are environmentally
friendly.
"They're flickering at an imperceptible rate and saving us 10 percent
in energy," Laskey said, adding that, like most electronic items in his
home, these lights can be controlled by a computer system that's wired into
the house itself.
Even the kitchen cupboards arguably offer green benefits.
"These are eucalyptus tree cabinets," Laskey said. "Eucalyptus
trees can be harvested every five years -- they're growing more quickly than
they're harvested."
While all of these eco-friendly additions make Louden Ridge homes
more expensive -- with prices starting at $600,000 -- Laskey
believes in spending the extra money, as a businessman and as
a private citizen concerned with environmental and personal health.
"I wanted to diversify Capital Construction to help us through typical
economic cycles," he explained. "And I thought, if I'm going to build
homes, I need to separate myself from the competition.
"Lastly, there's also some self-interest here," Laskey continued. "The
green movement does speak to me. I've lived in a lot of places where people
are more in touch with the outside than we are." |
