Green Homes & Homeowners | Tips on going Green

Green Homes are more than a Trend

The pulse for green homes has increased dramatically in the last year. From a low whisper to a roaring engine, green is growing, and it's much more than a trend. With rising energy prices in 2006 to widespread climate awareness, home buyers are looking to be eco-friendly at home.

Green homes are defined as those that have lower than historic levels of environmental impact. Here are some tips on going green.

• Use building materials from recycled products.
• Install low-flow shower heads and water saving toilets.
• Buy lumber that doesn't come from old-growth timber.
• Use high-efficiency windows that feature double panes with low-E coatings.
• Utilize paints and carpets with no or low odor ratings.
• Recycle building debris.
• Research renewable energy sources that cut reliance on fossil fuels. Solar panels, thermal and wind technology have come along way in the last couple of years.
• New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Oregon offer green building tax credits and are among many states and municipalities that offer incentives to those involved in going green.
• Green communities feature: mass transit, community infrastructure that reduces miles traveled, local health and social services, walk-able options for recreation and shopping needs, and accessible bike paths.
• Lifestyles of the health and sustainability consumer or LOHAS are a significant housing niche that are motivated by values of personal, social and environmental well-being. They form the foundation of the rise in green building.
• Energy efficient mortgages (EEM) or green mortgages are available to home buyers who purchase energy efficient homes. The rationale behind these mortgages is the energy savings from a green home is converted to income for the borrower. Some borrowers can qualify for a more expensive home if it is green.
• Look for the LEED certification. It provides assurances that it meets guidelines by the U.S. Green Building Council. The certification is a rating system for environmental sustainability. Buildings are rated on their energy efficiency and consumption, environmentally friendly features and the use of local supplies to cut transport costs and energy use to the job site.

GREEN HOMES ARE MORE THAN A TREND by Mark Nash

How Happy are Green Homeowners?

Green is the color of envy. It's also the color of environmentalism. And now, according to new research, it's also the color of happiness.

The study by McGraw-Hill Construction and co-sponsored by the National Association of Home Builders found that home owners are happier with their new green homes than with their previous homes, and that they are eager to recommend buying green to others.

More importantly, perhaps, the research provides the first estimate of the true size of the green home market, screening out green owners from a representative panel of U.S. home owners.

According to the study, less than 1 percent - 0.3 percent, to be exact - of all American homes are truly green; that is, they contain elements of at least three of the five environmental building categories.

"Though it's still a small number, builders are already getting it when it comes to the value of real green homes, and it appears homeowners are too," says Harvey M. Bernstein, vice president of industry analytics at McGraw-Hill.

Researchers found that last year, roughly 2 percent of the residential construction market had at least one green building element, such as energyefficient appliances. But Bernstein maintains that both builders and their buyers "are really starting to commit to building truly green homes."

They are "moving away from just adding energy efficient appliances or one aspect that's green," he said, and starting to paying more attention than ever "to the holistic benefit of green."

McGraw-Hill's study found that owners are extremely happy with their green homes, with 85 percent happier with their new green homes versus their previous non-green ones. And they're not shy about sharing those feelings.

This finding is "powerful," according to Bernstein, because 28 percent of the owners reported first hearing about green homes through word of mouth.

"We're excited that green homeowners are so happy with their homes and that they're willing to share the good news," says Ray Tonjes, chairman of the NAHB Green Building Subcommittee and a builder in Austin, Texas, who specializes in green house.

"NAHB and its members have been leaders in the voluntary movement to increase the energy and resource efficiency and quality of homes, and it is great news that these consumers are so satisfied with their high-performing homes. Green building's market share will continue to expand."

Here are some of the study's other more interesting findings:

The new green homeowner is affluent and well educated, in his/her mid forties and married, and also more likely to be from the Southern or Western states. Women are also more likely to be green homeowners.

Operating costs matter. Sixty-three percent report lower operating and maintenance costs as the key motivation behind buying a green home. Less than half report environmental concerns and family health as motivators as the main motivators for going green.

Lack of awareness, higher costs and scarcity lead the list of obstacles to going green. The top three obstacles, all hovering over 60 percent of respondents, were oriented around education, additional costs involved in green homes and the availability of the homes. But the single largest hurdle was viewed as education, or the lack thereof.

How Happy are Green Homeowners by Lew Sichelman

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