Green is the Color of New Homes

by Kim Kinrade

With the glut of homes on the market you would think that home building would be at a standstill. Well, in some markets it is but there is another niche in the market which is doing quite well and could be considered as "thriving." This is the construction of energy efficient homes far above and beyond the standards set by the traditional housing builders.

The point is that energy-savvy home buyers are looking to the future and they see energy prices going anywhere but down. Natural gas, once the cheapest form of home heating on the market, is at record heights and climbing, and electricity for running the home is set to take a 20% hike. Prospective home builders see that their friends, once happy with their new "dream home," are finding that, two later, it is an energy hog.

Let's face it, the way most home are built is archaic and wasteful. Many still use baseboard electric heat while others have oil or gas. In addition most windows installed are the standard double-paned glass and many of these are installed in the wrong direction in accordance with the sun which means either high air conditioning costs or fuel costs depending on where you live in the country.

Green Home Features

1. Lot Preparation

Many green builders begin at the basic core of the building which is the lot. Rather than pick a home design and then build it on a lot, instead they build the right design for the lot. In other words the builder studies the piece of property and then plans a home that will take advantage of all the lot has to offer: solar, drainage, water and shelter from the elements. By placing the right home in the right position on the lot can cut energy costs in a big way.

2. Structure Walls

In the past walls were 2" X 4" studs with fiberglass batt insulation. Within the past 30 years a protective house wrap and interior vapor seal have been added to cut down on wind and moisture but air can still get into the walls and "tunnel" into the home. Walls are now being constructed as solid entities so that wind and moisture cannot get in. This includes:

• Insulated Concreter Forms: Foam blocks, reinforced with steel and then filled with concrete.
• Structural Insulated Panels: A thick, rigid foam board sandwiched between two panels of board.
• Hay Bales: This way of building is gaining many converts. The straw bales provide the structure as well as the insulation and are sealed by stucco or another product.
• Wood Frame with Foam Insulation: Urea-formaldehyde foam was banned years ago because the EPA though that the off-gassing was detrimental to health. New advances in foam have made this a great insulation as it will not get wet and it seals the walls. And the r-factor is twice that of fiberglass.

3. Attic Insulation

Since heat rises it is only reasonable to assume that a good bed of insulation in the attic will prevent heat from escaping. Perforated metallic sheeting will also also reflect up to 95% of the heat back into the home and, in the summer, prevent that amount of heat from entering through the roof.

4. Windows

The standard for windows is triple-panes low e (emissive) glass with either argon or krypton filling. The newest triple panes have a plastic middle pane and plastic is a great thermal break. The low-e metal coating reflects the heat back into the home and also deflects heat in hot areas. The heavy gas within the panes prevents a convection current which leeches the energy from inside the home: either heat or cool air from an air conditioner. If you already have good windows you can install low-e material to the outside of the panes

Not only do you need the right windows but they have to be placed in the right direction. For most areas this is within 15 degrees of south. In the wintry states low-lying sun should be able to fill the home with passive solar heat and the summer sun should be too high to overheat the home.

4. Water

• Rainwater: Oil is not the only precious commodity these days. Water is now great demand which means that if you build a home in a new area you may have to pay a King's ransom for a decent supply. New home building techniques allow for rainwater collection and storage. Even in areas where there is water in abundance the price of pumping it is going up so the price of your bill will go up as well. New systems take rainwater and use it for showers, toilets, landscaping and, when properly processed, drinking water.
• Conservation: Root watering systems for shrubs and trees and the elimination of large lawns not only saves water but prevents chemical fertilizers and pesticides from getting into the water supply.

There are many reasons to build green and the majority of them point to the future. For your future dream home, which will be environmentally conscious and energy efficient, contact