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THE USGBC LEED FOR HOMES PILOT PROGRAM AWARDS PRINGLE CREEK COTTAGE a LEED for HOMES PLATINUM RATING IN RESIDENTIAL SUSTAINABLE DESIGN

June 19, 2007

Home is First in Northwest to Achieve LEED’s Top-Tier Honor

Salem - Oregon; The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has recognized the Pringle Creek Cottage at 1826 Cousteau Loop - SE in Salem - Oregon as receiving a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum certification under its LEED for Homes pilot program. LEED for Homes is a USGBC green homes pilot program that evaluates the environmental features of single and multi-family homes. Earth Advantage - Inc is the recognized Northwest LEED for Homes Provider. LEED certified homes are designed to be energy efficient - environmentally sound - resource friendly - and healthy places for its occupants. This home is also certified as Earth Advantage and ENERGY STAR as well. The Pringle Creek Cottage is the first home in the northwest and the 5th nationally to reach the coveted LEED for Homes Platinum Certification. It is currently the highest scoring LEED for Homes project in the nation. This is truly a tremendous house” - states Randy Hansell - LEED for Homes Program Manager for Earth Advantage - Inc. This green built home looks just like any other well designed home - but its sustainability - energy efficiency - and healthier living attributes are anything but normal. This home’s functionality is heads and shoulders above any other home in the market.” To date - there have been 85 homes in Oregon and 393 nationally that have been certified in the LEED for Homes program. The home is located in the Pringle Creek Community development in Salem - Oregon and was constructed by Bilyeu Homes. LEED will provide national consistency in defining what constitutes a green home. Rising energy and water costs concern many homeowners - and LEED certified homes are energy efficient and consume fewer resources than conventional houses. LEED is a national brand that potential homeowners and tenants can look for - to readily identify true green homes. LEED certified homes consume less energy - use less water - and are safe and healthy places for their families to live. All LEED Homes are third party inspected - performance tested - and certified to be higher-performing than conventional homes. LEED and/or Earth Advantage certified homes includes high performance features designed to provide improved heath - safety - comfort - and lower operating costs. These homes are also more environmentally friendly - more durable - less polluting - and make substantially better use of resources. In addition - the net cost of owning a green home may be no more than the net cost of a conventional home and in some cases - not only pay you back from energy savings - but additional health benefits are difficult to put a price on. This home featured a number of energy and environmental features that reduce the house’s impact on the environment - not only in the construction of the home - but also in the operation and maintenance of the home. The features that reduced the houses impact on the environment are: - Daylighting and cross ventilation - Rainwater harvesting system to be used for irrigation of the landscaping - Solar hot water system - Photovoltaic system - Geothermal heating system tied to a community well - Energy Recovery system - Premium air filtration system - Use of Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) certified wood throughout the house - Locally produced materials such as Pacific Madrone hardwood floors Twelve local and regional organizations - called LEED for Homes Pilot Providers - have formal responsibility for rating LEED Homes during the pilot phase. Bilyeu Homes worked with Earth Advantage - Inc. - on this project to ensure the LEED for Homes standards were met. We knew we could handle a top-tier project such as this” states Blake Bilyeu of Bilyeu Homes. But having Earth Advantage guide us through the LEED for Homes process really helped the project go smoothly and ensured there were no ‘hiccups’ along the way. As for the finished product - we have one of the top performing homes in the country and that’s something everyone involved with can be proud of.”

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