Building Green

Green seems to be all the rage. Everything is going green. It seems that nothing can be sold or marketed nowadays without the green label, and new homes are no exception. Of course if you are in the market for a pre-owned home, you have very little chance of getting a green home, but buyers of new homes can have their pick of many green options in their home. Let's talk a little bit about the concept of green.

What makes something green? What makes a home green? Is it fancy insulation? Is it a radiant barrier that we hear so much about on the radio? Is it native landscaping that requires little watering? What makes a home green? Well, the short answer is: there are many standards of green that include Energy Star and Green Built North Texas. Do these standards make a home green?


As you can see, defining green is quite a challenging task. Everyone has their own definition of "energy efficiency", "environmentally friendly", and "money-saving". Well, let us suggest a few things to consider when searching for your green home.

1) How much is this home going to save me on my monthly utility bills? It is perfectly normal to want a green home because it will save you money. Heck, everyone is trying to save a little money these days. When talking to home building companies about green homes, ask them how much you will save each month (percentage) and how they can prove that. Do they have a third party inspector come through to verify? They should. That way you know you are getting a truly green home. Don't forget to ask about savings on your water bill as well as your energy bill. Green homes should be energy efficient and water efficient.


2) Indoor air quality. Did you think about this concept as being green? You most certainly should. This is one of the most important things to consider when looking for a home, especially if you suffer from allergies or asthma. Here are some things to ask a builder about. Are there return vents in every single room? There should be to provide fresh air to each room, constantly. Is the garage sealed off from the rest of the house? It should be, unless you want to breathe car exhaust. Ask to take a look at the air filter they use. Do they use the 1" filters found at Wal-Mart or do they use 4" media filters? Important questions.

3) How green is their building process? Does the builder recycle the unused brick and lumber or do they throw away all 8000 pounds of trash on a typical home? Ask them.

4) Are you getting a "systems approach" on your home? If you take a normal home, built to code, and add a radiant barrier to that home, what do you think the energy savings would be? 10%? 15%? Not very likely. Energy efficiency must be done as a system. That means that doing one thing to your home will not make a significant difference in energy efficiency. It is a combination of many things working together that will make your home truly energy efficient and green. Ask your builder to explain their green system to you. Just putting Energy Star appliances in the home is not going to make your home green.

I hope this helped you out a bit. Because green homes is such a hot topic right now, we will undoubtedly touch on it again in the future. Until then, happy home hunting. And remember, green homes may be tricky to identify, but the search is worth it because they will save you money EVERY SINGLE MONTH and they will have a better resale value in 5-10 years when all homes sold will be green.

Here is an article on realtors finally going green:
Realtors Go Green


This Happy News Brought To You By:
Newport Homebuilders
www.newporthomebuilders.com
469.854.6640