Living at The Daumier is a green choice.
We take the lead in energy and environmental design.
Our community is LEED certified, which means that you can rest assured that our building and its features are environmentally friendly and smart. Read on to learn more about the LEED For Homes certification and what it means for you as a Daumier resident.
What is the USGBC and the LEED Program?
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is a non-profit organization that advocates for sustainable building design that minimizes impacts on the natural environment. It’s primarily interested in improving the energy and cost efficiency of the built environment. The USGBC has developed the LEED(Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating and certification systems, which encourages designers to employ sustainable strategies in their work to meet and/or exceed desired environmental standards. Early on throughout the design and construction of The Daumier, a professional LEED consultant was engaged to assist with the design and incorporation of sustainable strategies, in order to minimize our overall impact on the environment. From things such as proximity to community amenities in order to encourage pedestrian travel, all the way to the actual materials used during construction, LEED covers eight important environmental aspects of design, location and construction. The information outlined below will expand on some of these categories and featured amenities. For more information about LEED and the USGBC go to www.usgbc.org.
What is LEED for Homes?
LEED for Homes is the certification system for new residential projects. It evaluates the building and developer’s performance in the following areas:
- Innovation & Design Process
- Location & Linkages
- Sustainable Sites
- Water Efficiency
- Energy & Atmosphere
- Materials & Resources
- Indoor Environmental Quality
- Awareness & Education
Points are assigned to each category and the final level of certification is determined by the total number of points earned out of a potential 136 points. The potential levels of certification for New Residential projects are as follows: platinum (80-136), gold (65-79), silver (50-64), and certified (35-49). Hanover Pacific is pursuing LEED Gold for The Daumier.
I. Locations and Linkages
Your Community
The Daumier is strategically located adjacent to your campus at Western University of Health Sciences. Your home is also within ½ mile of several essential community amenities such as markets, shops, restaurants, parks, banks and library’s. In addition, you are just blocks away from the Metrolink Station which can take you all the way from downtown Riverside to downtown L.A. Or you can take the Silver Streak Bus line to get to 22 other local cities here in Southern California. For specific maps and schedules please refer to the website below.
Metrolink Train: http://www.metrolinktrains.com/
Foothill Transit, Silver Streak Bus Line: http://foothilltransit.org/
II. Sustainable Sites
Storm Water Management
The site is designed with 47% vegetative landscaping and 53% impermeable surfaces, such as concrete patios and walkways. The storm water run off from the impermeable surfaces is designed to be captured by three underground Contech CMP perforated detention systems. Two of the systems are in the courtyard and the third is in the paseo just outside the West side of the lobby. The water detention system captures and stores storm water runoff exceeding the sites allowable discharge rate and releases it slowly over time back into the native soil. Plants and shrubs have also been planted in order to assist with surface water management and erosion control.
Erosion Control
During construction, erosion control measures were implemented to minimize the impacts on surrounding sites due to storm water runoff. Sand bags were installed and maintained along the perimeter of the project site to retain soil while allowing the passage of excess water. Pumps were utilized to control water discharge from the site and sewer inlets were protected with straw bales. These measures prevented exposed soil from entering and clogging the adjacent drainage systems.
III. Materials and Resources
Construction Methods
The construction process has the potential to be harmful to human health and the environment, but our general contractor used sustainable strategies and materials to ensure that these impacts are mitigated. The following programs were developed to ensure environmental diligence:
- Waste Management Plan: The contractor developed a waste management plan with the goal of recycling or salvaging for reuse at least 76% of the material waste generated on-site. The general contractor also reviewed the program with subcontractors so that each work crew was responsible for their own waste prevention and recycling. Performance was regularly monitored throughout the duration of the project.
- Indoor Air Quality Management Plan: The contractor also created an indoor air quality management plan to prevent contamination of the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system during construction. Once the HVAC was installed, the permanent ducts were sealed to prevent anything (i.e. dust) from entering the system during the rest of construction. Just prior to occupancy, the contractor performed a 48-hour flush of the system to ensure that there would be no harmful airborne particles once the system began operating.
Construction MaterialsPermanent materials with lower impacts on human health and the environment were used as much as possible throughout the building process:
Low VOC Materials: Some building components emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are harmful gases given off by solids or liquids. Paints and carpets typically emit a significant amount of VOCs, so no to low VOC versions of these products were specifically used to improve the indoor air quality of the building.
Items include:
- Paints
- Carpet
- Vinyl Flooring
- Adhesives, caulking and sealants
Locally Extracted, Processed, and Manufactured Materials
The transportation needed to deliver building materials to a site typically requires significant energy consumption and also generates pollution. To reduce these environmental impacts of material production, the contractor selected building products that were fabricated locally and/or outside tropical forests, such as:
- Building framing
- Doors, jambs and casings
- Cabinets, moldings and shelves
- Siding
- Gypsum board for the walls and ceilings
High Albedo Materials
The light colored concrete used, is designed to deflect the sun’s heat and reduce heat island effects along with the white thermoplastic polyolefin roofing. In conjunction, these two elements help reduce the project’s solar heat gain and improve the buildings energy performance, especially in the summer when energy demand is typically at its peak. thereby improving the building’s overall energy consumption.
Landscaping
The landscaping has incorporated non-invasive plants that are not harmful to existing plant life within the area. The majority of these plants are drought tolerant and therefore reduce the daily water requirement for the building’s landscaping.
When watering is necessary, the landscaping is equipped with high-efficiency irrigation with head-to-head coverage, which minimizes the areas where sprinkler head flows overlap. Specific heads have been installed to accommodate particular plant and bedding water requirements. The individual nozzles have check valves in the head to prevent excess water drainage and reduce the flow rate, which allows plants to absorb the water without creating wasted runoff. The system also has a moisture sensor and central shut-off valve, which allows for greater control of its operation. The efficiency of both the plants and the sprinkler system reduces the required amount of irrigation and allows for significant water conservation across the site.
Green Features in your Home
IV. Water Efficiency
High-Efficiency Fixtures & Appliances
As shown below, the household fixtures and appliances in The Daumier exceed high-efficiency water standards:
Fixture High Efficiency Standard Actual Performance
Toilet ≤ 1.30 gpf 1.28 gpf
Faucet ≤ 1.5 gpm 1.5 gpm
Shower Head ≤ 1.75 gpm 1.5 gpm
Dishwasher ≤ 6 gallons per cycle 4.25 gpc
Clothes Washer Modified Energy Factor ≥ 2 MEF 2.4
Waste Factor < 5.5 WF 4
V. Energy and Atmosphere
Energy Conservation
Energy Star is a program where the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) evaluates products for energy performance so that we can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy costs by purchasing efficient appliances. Your apartment is equipped with a refrigerator and dishwasher that exceed the federal energy standards.
Lighting
- Bulbs: The overhead lights contain compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs that consume 75% less energy than a standard light bulb. They also produce less heat than standard bulbs, which makes them safer to handle. CFLs provide cost savings in both bulb replacement and energy usage.
- Switches: The light switches in the common rooms are equipped with sensors that detect motion and shut off automatically if nobody is in the room. This prevents excess energy usage when someone forgets to shut off the lights.
Overall Building Performance: The building has been designed to achieve nearly an 18% reduction in energy consumption when compared to a baseline building meeting Title 24 Energy requirements.
VI. Indoor Environmental Quality
Fresh Air Intake
There is a constant-fresh air intake mounted in perimeter apartments that face the North, East and West directions. This is a manually operable inlet that brings in fresh air into select apartment units, creating ventilation. When the apartment needs more fresh air, you can manually open the vent.
Vapor Ventilation – Residential Units
Each unit has vents in the bedroom, bathroom, and above the stove that should be used to remove stale air and odors from your apartment. The bathroom is equipped with an automatic humidistat that detects the amount of moisture in the air. When the air becomes too saturated, the humidistat will turn on the exhaust fan automatically.