For The Love Of Dayton

DAYTON — They’re helping to make every day Earth Day, with new townhouses and single-family homes that tread lightly on the planet.

“For Dayton, building green is now a reality,” said Margie Rivera, of Dayton-based Litehouse Development Group.

The Litehouse team combines Rogero Buckman Architects, the marketing and design firm Visual Marketing Associates, and Burhill Financial Services.

The development under way in Dayton, at First Street and North Patterson Boulevard, will contain 40 midsize townhouses. The West Carrollton project along Pease Avenue will contain single-family homes.

Some of the earth-friendly features incorporated into the designs include:

• Homes are built on in-fill or previously developed sites making use of existing infrastructure.

• Modular construction creates a highly insulated home. The tight building design minimizes heat transfer and thermal bridging, created when materials that are poor insulators come in contact, allowing heat to flow through the path created.

• The homes feature energy-efficient doors, windows and appliances, a high-efficiency furnace, natural and compact fluorescent lighting.

• To reduce the amount of fossil fuel (gas) required for transportation, regionally produced materials are used. The homes are being constructed by Unibuilt Industries in Vandalia and the foundation contractor is Superior Walls of the Tri-State, based in Lebanon.

• The Litehouse units are made of nontoxic materials, including paint, cabinets and flooring free of volatile organic compounds.

• The use of a whole-house fan draws out stale indoor air and draws in fresh air, improving air quality and reducing mold prevalence.

•Water-efficient faucets, low-flow shower heads and dual-flush toilets decrease consumption. On the exterior, a rain harvesting system captures rainwater to irrigate the lawn or garden. Permeable pavement and drought resistant native plants are used to control soil erosion and runoff that would otherwise go into municipal storm sewers.

Models are expected to open in May in Dayton and West Carrollton.