Green Bungalow Initiative | Chicago
The Green Bungalow Initiative renovated four Chicago bungalows to determine if green building benefits of improved indoor air quality, energy efficiency and resource conservation could be achieved in this distinctive architectural style. Each bungalow was renovated with a different modern lifestyle theme: a handicapped adaptable home, a home office, a young professional loft-style home and a classically restored bungalow.
Features included double-paned windows, energy-efficient furnaces and water heaters, and extra insulation, including insulation made of recycled newspapers.
Renovation of the homes was completed in June 2002, and the homes were sold and occupied by November of that year. A subsequent comparison of energy bills with a "control" bungalow on the same block with the rehabbed bungalows demonstrated that energy savings in the Green Bungalows ranged from 15 percent to 49 percent. This was a very successful program for the Historic Chicago Bungalow Association, as it was easy to incorporate this pertinent sustainable information into their data base.
