Real Estate – What’s a GREEN home?
Categories: Green Resources, Real Estate News, Smart Living
hiThere’s much talk about Green homes these days, but most home buyers and Realtors can’t differentiate between a Green home and conventional — how can you tell you are buying a green home? What are the benefits of owning a Green Home? Does a GREEN Home costs more? Will a Green home hold its value better than a conventional? Why should you buy a GREEN Home?
According to the US Green Building Council (USGBC), “a green home is designed to have a positive impact on energy efficiency, environmental performance and human well being”. In plain English that means that green homes uses less electricity & gas; minimizes the negative impact on the property and sorroundings; it also reduces the negative impact on other areas of the country and/or the world; it provides an interior space that is healthier for its occupants. According to the USGBC the way you recognize those buildings is through the LEED Quality Seal or LEED Certification.
LEED Certification is one of several recognized certifications that identify GREEN homes. The systems for evaluating Green homes are usually voluntary and there are other organizations that also certify buildings. The Florida Green Building Coalition is one system used by builders in Florida. The US Environmental Protection Agency also has the Star Rating program which measures the energy efficiency of residential properties. .
A Green home can look like a conventional home or very hi-tech; it can be a new house or remodeled. It can have electric generating systems or not. What makes a GREEN Home is its location; the way it is built and the materials, methods and systems used to build it and the fact that an independent third party reviewed the property and documentation and gave it a seal of approval. If a property does not have certification from a recognized organization like US Green Building Council (USGBC) or Florida Green Building Coalition (other states have similar associations) or EPA Star Rating, then it is not considered GREEN. It is possible to find a home that is GREEN and not certified, but when you go to sell the home others will want independent certification.
GREEN Homes are more energy efficient than conventional homes. Even without solar panels or other power generating systems, green homes can save from 30-60% in electric costs. These homes also use less water and if the water system is properly designed with whole house filters you have better tasting and healthier water. These homes are touted at being healthier for people with allergies since they use finishes with low VOC. If properly designed and built, they are also more resistant to local climate conditions, insects and pests.
Because they cost less to operate, some banks give more favorable mortgages for GREEN or Energy Efficient properties. Energy Efficient Mortgages (EEM) are provided to Star Rated Homes — you can find out more about EEM at http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=bldrs_lenders_raters.energy_efficient_mortgage . There are also the basic savings that you get by using less energy.
I recently remodeled and expanded our house — you can see for yourself the energy chart for our house and it is evident that I am using less electricity. You can see the drop in use while we moved for the construction and then the amount of electricity used after we moved back. The house is about 47% larger, but uses about 40% less electricity. We are saving about $100-150 per month in electricity.
Like a hybrid car, a GREEN home costs a little more than a conventional house, but it offers many benefits including lower operating costs, better quality of life and lower carbon footprint. Personally I believe GREEN homes are going to be in higher demand in the future and hold their value higher as we move forward and fuel prices increase again. While other cities have a higher inventory of GREEN homes, South Florida does not have many. But with increased awareness and demand there will be more supply. If you want to buy a GREEN home in South Florida, I can help you.
Hi,
Have a look at these eco homes, they use a variety of green products in their houses, what is interesting about these are they are built not by a passionate person wishing to have a green house which is often the case for these sorts of houses. They are in fact built by developers who believe that this can be done on a profitable and substainable way. This should be the way forward for any new developments. Have a look at houses for sale Cornwall
Anna,
I think there is a market out there for green homes. I just came from North Carolina where there is a very active green home market. It is an eco-friendly area and people are demanding these types of homes. So builders are providing them.
Looking at the ones you indicated in your reply, defines part of the problem with housing on our side of the world. That house is about 85 SM which traslates to about 900 SF. Our typical dwelling in the US is about 235 SM or close to 2500 SF.
As part of greening our homes we need to reduce the size of our homes to more sustainable levels. I don’t think our people will adjust to less than 1000 SF any time soon, but if we can just reduce to 1200-1500 SF we’ll be doing great and reducing our energy consumption significantly.
Your site is definitely a breath of fresh air compared to the typical rubbish I learn on solar energy. There’s a lot of scams on the market. Thanks for helping me out.
Teneka,
You are right, there are a lot of scams and a lot of people selling GREEN products who have no clue. I am glad this information helped.