How green is this house? City of Fresno, partners team up to build home 75% less energy greedy.

[Editor's note: Unlimited Energy donated the solar energy system for this affordable, energy smart home. Photo of Unlimited's CEO Tommie Nellon with new home buyer Jessica Carranco.] 

First-time home buyer Jessica Carranco's new "green" home may not look like it has the latest in energy efficiencies.

But underneath, on top and inside this modest southeast Fresno home are materials and systems that save energy, require fewer resources and ultimately will be cheaper to maintain.

Project organizers estimate the 1,380-square-foot home will use 75% less energy than a conventional home.

"I am excited about having a lower energy bill, especially in Fresno when its gets 110 degrees in the summer," Carranco said Monday during an open-house tour of her nearly completed home.

The building project was developed by a multiagency partnership, including Fresno's Housing and Community Development, United Security Bank, Unlimited Energy, Strategic Energy Innovations, Alvis Projects, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Environmental Protection Agency. Michael Sigala, the city's housing and community development manager, said the home on East Iowa Avenue is the first of six green home projects the city is building with its partners.

"We really wanted to do something different that would have a low impact on natural resources, as well as make it affordable and be an infill project," Sigala said. "We believe that parts of this home are the future of building."

Among the home's unique features are a specialty roofing material that absorbs less heat, a concrete driveway that allows water to soak through and an insulated wall material that uses expanded polystyrene.

Construction cost of the three-bedroom, two-bath home is estimated at $240,000, of which the city is providing $80,000 in mortgage assistance to the homeower.

Sigala said the additional features added 30% to 40% to the total cost of the home.

"But there are a lot of incentives out there that can help close that gap," he said.

As part of the project, the home's energy usage will be monitored and a report produced in six months, said Cyane Dandridge of Strategic Energy Innovations, a green home building consultant.

"We really want to try and create long-term affordability," Dandridge said.

Marlin Alvis of Alvis Projects, builders of the home, said he hopes others will consider using the new materials and techniques.

"We want people to get excited about this," Alvis said. "And we want people to know what is possible."