Energy Efficiency Tops with Green Home Owners
“Greater energy efficiency drives consumers to choose a green-built home,” according to a survey by the National Association of Home Builders. With the cost of fuel skyrocketing, and consumers looking to fuel efficient cars to help at the pump, it is no surprise that they would also be looking for energy efficiency from their buildings.
According to the survey, which polled 800 registered voters about how important certain features would be in their decision to build a green home or remodel their current home to be more green, 64% said that energy efficiency would be the most important feature, the healthier environment of green homes came in second at 55%, and 49% percent believed it would be the right thing to do for the environment.
Home builders and designers who can provide energy efficient homes will have a better chance of surviving the recent housing slump. While general home sales are down, recent studies have shown that the sale of green homes is remaining steady. Green houses also tend to be worth more.
The one concern most consumers have is the cost of green homes. While tax credits and rebates help, home owners should be looking at the long term benefits of owning green. With lower energy and maintenance costs over time, the additional premium is worth it. Also, as technology and building techniques evolve, construction costs will come down.
In today’s volatile fuel market, energy efficient buildings are going to be all the rage, and delivering quality homes at a reasonable price will help many builders rise above the slumping market.
I totally agree that putting forth the effort to build green now will pay rich dividends every month and for years and years into the future.
Even energy efficient home design ( see http://www.building-your-green-home.com/energy-efficient-home-design.html ) can save a substantial amount of money. Passive heating and cooling costs little to implement. Green doesn’t have to mean outrageously expensive. Yet it is true, as you state, that green homes sell faster and are worth more. Green building is a wise investment all the way around. Thanks for the article.
It makes sense to me, Dawn. The first thing we have to tackle is improving the technology, and I believe the demand will bring about more affordable and efficient renewable technologies. One place to start is “off the grid”. In the second home market, many popular areas are very rural, often with affordable land where there’s no power, but not all that distant from the attractions. Building lots and parcels are often much cheaper than those in developments with direct access to the grid. Just the savings on the building parcel can more than make up for the cost of using solar or wind power and the sole source of electricity.
Another place to start would be to start revamping federal buildings with renewable energy sources, and energy efficient fixtures. This would ramp up the competition and mass production of green technologies. At the same time, it would put people back to work who would otherwise collect unemployment. Sure, it would cost the government more money, but we would be getting something in return that would save in the long run, and keep people working with higher paying jobs in the short term.
The statistics described above is impressive considering the state of the economy. It is great that consumers focus highly on environmentally friendly home construction materials, but agreeably costs have been prohibitive for traditional construction. Today the New York Times reports that buildings in the US account for 39 percent of carbon dioxide emissions, 65 percent of all waste, and 70 percent of all electrical use in the country. Wow! The good news is that great technologically advances construction materials are now available to offset these problems but are being underutilized. These include carbon dioxide containing concrete, eco-friendly wall panels made of wheat and sorghum, and soon new drywall that eliminate carbon dioxide release during its production. While these materials are not as inexpensive as standard materials, combining these with modular home construction which reduces costs of home construction by 20 percent makes for a great solution. Modular homes are more environmentally friendly, lower in cost, higher in value and higher in quality on average. The marriage between these technologies will be able to give homeowners what they want…they can have their cake and eat it too!
Michael Zenga
ZN Custom Building
http://www.zncustombuilding.com