This is the Helenowski Residence, a net-zero energy gut-rehab located in Chicago's Edgebrook neighborhood. After a four-year renovation that included adding a vertical axis wind turbine and a set of solar panels to the roof, the home earned a whopping 119 points (out of a possible 136) from the LEED for Homes program, which was thought by some to be the highest point total on record.
The USGBC tells Harold Bubil, a real estate writer for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, that there exists in this great land a house that outperformed even the Helenowski home in the checklist battle, earning 121 points. But USGBC refuses to release the name and location of the over-achieving house, so for now, the greenest home in the US will remain a mystery.
· Nation's greenest home is a mystery [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
· LEED Platinum Gut-Rehab in Chicago [Jetson Green]