Green means many different things to many different people. In homes, the goal is to create a healthier, more comfortable home through energy efficiency and conserving resources. I refer to this as smart building. The lowest common denominator in a smart approach to your home is directing your resources toward those modifications and remediation efforts that pay for themselves! If your car was leaking gas, what is the first thing you would do? Plug the leak or put more gas into the tank to compensate for the loss? This illustrates the basic discrepancy in the energy efficiency approach that many think of first when approaching energy efficiency. I can't tell you how many times I hear someone's first step towards reducing their consumption is to install high cost improvements to supplement the energy they are losing/wasting in their homes. This report by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy illustrates results that energy efficiency is the smartest investment in energy improvements http://www.aceee.org/pubs/e085.htm. Sam Raskin, National Director of Energy Star for Home recently commented that plucking the low hanging fruit first often returns 20-30% on your investment. If I invest $2,000-$3,000 in the stock market right now, I certainly don't expect to make 20-30% on that investment. Neither does it make my home more comfortable or healthier. The first step to identifying where you get the biggest bang for your buck is hiring an energy auditor to inspect and test your home to determine the physical strengths and weaknesses. Several federal, state and local tax credits provide additional incentives for you to improve your home. There are several financing products as well that pay for improvements with the savings in utility costs. These financial products are expanding every day and allow for the improvements without any additional out of pocket costs if approached smartly.
Chris Bellanca
EarthCraft Virginia recently rolled out the EarthCraft Renovation Program (www.earthcrafthouse.com or www.ecvirginia.org). The Renovation Program is a performance program based on achieving a 30% improvement in energy usage. Please consider incorporating home performance in your project if you or someone you know are considering on making significant improvements to your home. Incorporating green aspects in your renovations often can be met by smart design and planning.
Example: Traditional walls are built with studs 16" apart from each other. Proper planning and code compliant design allows studs and floor joists to be 24" apart from each other allowing for a 30% or more reduction in framing lumber. The reduction of wall and ceiling space for framing allows for increased insulation as well, making the wall or floor more efficient.
This is just one example of how "less is more". We can be your builder, or if you already have a builder, contact us for a no obligation consultation on how we can help you get more with less.
EarthCraft House is a regional green building program dedicated to building green homes and small commercial properties. The first EarthCraft House in the Washington DC metro area is located in the Del Ray section of Alexandria, VA and can be viewed at www.515green.com. More information on The Avenue Builders can be found at www.theavenuebuilders.com.
Energy Efficient Mortgages (EEM) are a 15 year old FHA product available to your clients. It seems they aren't used often out of lack of understanding and are really not much more difficult than a standard FHA loan. Today's market conditions mean home buyers are increasingly using FHA financing. If you have a client that is looking at an FHA product, or you work with FHA products regularly, have you considered offering an EEM to your client? An EEM can be used on either a home purchase or a refinance.
Energy Efficient Mortgages consist of testing a home to determine which energy improvements make economic sense if rolled into the financing of the home. These improvements can be windows, doors, HVAC, insulation, appliances, etc. that will result in a DECREASED monthly payment when incorporated into the primary financing. Not only will the monthly payment be less, aged systems can be replaced to offer your client peace of mind, and the home will no doubt be more comfortable as well.
The testing of the home is performed by a certified Home Energy Rater (www.natresnet.org). The rater computer models the home based on the test results and inspection of the existing conditions/systems. The modeling of the home determines the present value of energy improvements when amortized into the home financing. The improvements that pay for themselves can be financed in the mortgage.
Our most recent EEM certification resulted in:
Additional information on FHA Energy Efficient Mortgages can be found at: http://nhl.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/eem/eem_prog.cfm
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