Is having a "green" home important to you?

[skymama 37]

Please indulge me as I do a little market research.
"Green" building is all the rage in Building Journals and seminars these days. My bossman-Dad asked me to find out how important it is to my friends and fellow consumers in their future home purchases. We know that California has has quite a good response to it, but Florida is lagging far behind in being earth friendly.

If you voted that you would pay more for a "green" home, how much of a percentage of an increse in price would you pay?

Has anyone already purchased one of these homes based off it being accredited as being officially "green", who can give me their thoughts as to whether is was a good value or not?

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[peregrinerose 0]

I love my home and will die in it, but it's far from green (1890 bank barn renovated into a home 30 years ago). However, we are working to improve it's greenness. As soon as my tax refund is here, we're getting a solar hot water heater installed. We're going to be replacing a couple of windows at a time for more energy efficient ones, etc.... it's worth the money to raise the value of our home and decrease our energy costs.

Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

[guppie01 0]

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California has has quite a good response to it, but Florida is lagging far behind in being earth friendly.

I was very surprised when I visited that there were no recycling bins... I'm not the biggest "green" person, but I felt wierd throwing away bottles/cans/paper, etc.

I would definitely like to do more with our home, however it's difficult to get things approved with the HOA.

A home may cost more initially, but I think the cost savings in the long run would more than equal it out.

g

"Let's do something romantic this Saturday... how bout we bust out the restraints?"
Raddest Ho this side of Jersey #1 - MISS YOU
OMG, is she okay?

[skymama 37]

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A home may cost more initially, but I think the cost savings in the long run would more than equal it out.

So, are the cost savings still more important than "saving" the earth? We know everyone likes to save money, but we're not sure everyone in these parts are very concerned about helping the environment yet.

My Dad thinks it's a generational thing; we sell mostly to affluent baby boomers who don't seem to care. He doesn't think my generation will buy into it, but maybe my children's generation will because they've started caring about the earth in school.

On a side note, the cities in my area do have recycling programs. My neighborhood is in a new program where they gave us a large trash can for recycling and have reduced our regular trash pick up to once a week. So, they're pretty much forcing the issue. If we don't comply, we'll have overflowing trash cans! I was always recycling, but I am doing more products now...I guess that's what they'll have to do for us lazy Americans.

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[Dave1960 0]

How far do you have to go to be accredited as a Green home? There is so much you can do to improve the home's Green-ness, so where do they draw the line?
You could go totally Solar but that would cost as much as 80K for an average home from what little I've read. Cistern for rainwater collection, Sprayfoam insulation, High E windows, Geo-thermal heating/air conditioning, plus all the stuff they make from recycled goods like countertops. I would love to do all of these things but it would take the cost of a home far and above what an average homebuyer could afford.

[peregrinerose 0]

I do think caring for the environment is important. I don't have access to a recycling program in my county, so I save up all the recyclables and drive them to Harrisburg (25 miles away) once a month or so on my way to work.

Saving money on energy costs and saving the environment often go hand in hand, so there's no problem with that. I guess from the recycled stance my barn is earth-friendly, as it would have likely been torn down and disposed of if the previous owners hadn't 'recycled' it

Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

[billvon 2,998]

>If you voted that you would pay more for a "green" home, how much of a
>percentage of an increse in price would you pay?

Would depend on how green it was. If it was just low-VOC paint, bamboo floors etc not much. If it was energy independent, had a graywater system, composting toilets, space for a garden, fruit trees etc I'd probably go 20% over standard price.

[quade 4]

I think the green issue is something people look for in terms of how efficient the house is going to be over the course of time.

For instance, if the house is going to cost 5% more initially but will recover those costs in energy savings over 5 years, then most people will probably see that as being a good deal. Depending on the terms of financing, that may not actually be the case, but I don't think most people are going to do the advanced math in their heads.

If you're talking about paying 20% more and would only pay for itself over the course of 30 years, well, in this current economic climate, you're probably barking up the wrong tree. Very few people want to save the planet so much that they're willing to place that much of a financial burden on themselves.

I guess billvon is an exception . . . but yeah, an exception.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[indyz 1]

The problem is "green" is such a broad term it is essentially useless. If by green you mean energy efficiency, then it is important to me. If you mean the carpet is made out of renewable hemp or whatever instead of synthetics, I don't really care.

[guppie01 0]

imo there are alot of people who don't really understand / care of the impacts of waste, or missuse of the environment. There really does seem to be a "ME" generation coming up in the ranks. So yeah, I would agree with your Dad to a degree. The "ME" generation would definitely say, okay I'll go green, but what do I get out of it.

Personally, going green for me, is a means of being more self sufficient. A bonus to that is it helps the environment. Unfortunately, imo, with the amount of people on this earth, it's going to take more than just a handful to truly make an impact.

Check out Manufactured Landscapes by Edward Burtynsky... http://www.edwardburtynsky.com/ Pretty frighening how much waste we as people produce.

g

"Let's do something romantic this Saturday... how bout we bust out the restraints?"
Raddest Ho this side of Jersey #1 - MISS YOU
OMG, is she okay?

[skymama 37]

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The problem is "green" is such a broad term it is essentially useless.

At a seminar yesterday, my Dad found out that there are 8 agencies who can issue a "green" certificate, which makes it even more confusing for a consumer.

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[MikeMcLean 0]

Am I the only one who finds it funny that a greenie is asking a green question ?

It wouldn't hurt you to think like a fucking serial killer every once in a while - just for the sake of prevention

[BillyVance 34]

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I do think caring for the environment is important. I don't have access to a recycling program in my county, so I save up all the recyclables and drive them to Harrisburg (25 miles away) once a month or so on my way to work.

Saving money on energy costs and saving the environment often go hand in hand, so there's no problem with that. I guess from the recycled stance my barn is earth-friendly, as it would have likely been torn down and disposed of if the previous owners hadn't 'recycled' it

My home is not very energy efficient, as my electric bill runs at least $160 and up a month for 4 bedrooms and 3 baths. I need to buy storm windows for the winter months and add more insulation to the attic.

As far as recycling goes, we don't have recycling pick up either. I built my own recycling center in the garage where I can sort recyclables in 6 main categories - plastics, aluminum, steel, paper-board, card-board, and newspapers/magazines. Those are what is accepted at the recycling place 20 miles from home. I used to save glass bottles, but they stopped accepting glass. I probably could still save the bottles and crush them for later use, say in a concrete mixture or something. Maybe even as backfill as we are working on a portion of our property that we want to level out and put a playground apparatus up on.

It takes us an average of two weeks to fill our garbage container that's picked up weekly. Not too bad with 2 adults, 1 child (soon-to-be 2 children) and 2 cats. We also have a compost pile.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[jcd11235 0]

The upfront premium of building a home to be energy efficient offers a tax free return on investment. For example, if superior insulation, solar panels, etc. save a home owner $100 per month on their utilities, they do not pay taxes on an extra $1200 each year. If I were a builder, I would focus on technologies that reduce operating costs, since those are features that can be justified to potential buyers regardless of their ideology w/r/t the environment.

Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

[MakeItHappen 15]

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My neighborhood is in a new program where they gave us a large trash can for recycling and have reduced our regular trash pick up to once a week. So, they're pretty much forcing the issue. If we don't comply, we'll have overflowing trash cans! I was always recycling, but I am doing more products now...I guess that's what they'll have to do for us lazy Americans.

reduced our regular trash pick up to once a week ????
We only get once per week for the regular trash and green bin and every other week for the recycle bin.

I've been trying to get once per month pickups (at reduced cost) because most weeks there is not much in the trash.

Have you created a mulch pile for all the bio-degradable stuff. aka the trimming from veggies, fruit and meats from your food and grass clippings, leaves etc from the yard? (BTW, my dogs just love the veggie clippings, esp broccoli and cauliflower) The mulch turns into great dirt for the yard too.

We get one bucket for trash, one for recycle (paper, plastic and cans) and one for green recycle (branches and such).
I take the cans and plastic to the recycle places and get my money back on those.

Most months I only put these out once per month and they are only about 1/3 to 1/2 full.


.

.
Make It Happen
Parachute History
DiveMaker

[skymama 37]

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reduced our regular trash pick up to once a week ????

Yes, they were coming around twice a week for trash, once for recycling and once for yard waste.

No, we haven't made a compost pile, I'd have to check with our HOA on that. We have a really strict organization.

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[NWFlyer 2]

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Florida is lagging far behind in being earth friendly.

If there's not a lot of builders heading in that direction in the local market and your dad's company could be one of the first, it could be a good differentiating factor in the market if it does start to shift towards more green building.

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[freefal 0]

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The problem is "green" is such a broad term it is essentially useless.

At a seminar yesterday, my Dad found out that there are 8 agencies who can issue a "green" certificate, which makes it even more confusing for a consumer.

As has been stated above, one problem with "green" anything is quantifying it and comparing apples to apples. There are a ton of people using the green buzzwords (sustainable, environmentally friendly, green___) but the most trusted and influential "agency" that I know of is the USGBCs LEED program (United States Green Building Council... Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). In addition to their commercial building certifications they also have a residential portion http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=147 The main benifit to LEED vs. some other "agencies" is that LEED certification can result in alot of tax rebates and other discounts and, most importantly, it is a QUANTIFIABLE point-based certification so you can tell how "green" one home is compared to another. (Talk about keeping up with the Joneses!)

In response to your comment about it being a generational thing, I agree that has been the case for a long time. At first, it was just the "hippies" who did all that green stuff, then it was most of the "younger generation", but with all of the government policies, certifications and rebates/promotions available now, and with the increases in energy rates, having a green home can end up costing the consumer less in the long run. The real question related to money is how long it takes to pay for whatever sustainable feature(s) you have. This really depends on the local energy rates, utility company rebates, and tax incentives though so it can very quite a bit across the country.

Sorry for the long post, but this is some of the stuff I deal with at work as an engineerd.
Chris (P.E., LEED ap)

"Ignorance is bliss" and "Patience is a virtue"... So if you're stupid and don't mind waiting around for a while, I guess you can have a pretty good life!

[monkycndo 0]

Green isn't just reduced home energy usage, recycling and non-stinky paint. Want to make a huge dent in the impact on the earth. Build your home SMALLER. Doesn't take as much resources to build/maintain. I volunteer with Habitat for Humanity. Their slogan is "A simple, decent place to live". Their large home design is around 1200sf. Mr. and Mrs. Green living in a 3000+sf home and claiming to be green is a joke. True green building also takes into account the cost to the planet for extracting/reusing resources. If the rag cotton insulation that doesn't use an ozone depleting blowing agent has to be shipped from the producer of the waste material to the manufacturer half way across the country, and then back to your new green house, that is a lot of burned hydrocarbons. I was on a "green" project that had wool carpet from New Zealand air freighted because of a deadline. Not too green. Start out with engineering the house so it uses passive heating and cooling(trees, window shades, cross ventilation, south facing windows with proper overhangs). Build using a 4' grid instead of lots of odd room/wall sizes and weird roof angles. Since most materials come in 2' increments, the 4' grid means much less waste during construction. Solar water heating and PV are great, but some of the fabricating processes use some nasty materials.(Bill, jump in on the the newer stuff).

Don't get me wrong, I am a greeny about construction. I just like to look at the big picture instead of the latest buzz about using this or doing that which makes joe shmoe feel green.

/rant

skymama, a well engineered home will not cost that much more to actually be green.

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[jumpwally 0]

"affluent Boomers " may be a thing of the past soon !

smile, be nice, enjoy life
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[Amazon 7]

Quote

Please indulge me as I do a little market research.
"Green" building is all the rage in Building Journals and seminars these days. My bossman-Dad asked me to find out how important it is to my friends and fellow consumers in their future home purchases. We know that California has has quite a good response to it, but Florida is lagging far behind in being earth friendly.

If you voted that you would pay more for a "green" home, how much of a percentage of an increse in price would you pay?

Has anyone already purchased one of these homes based off it being accredited as being officially "green", who can give me their thoughts as to whether is was a good value or not?

My home is already green. It was built in 1985 and has 2x6 walls insulated and very good insulation in the 2x8 roof and ceiling. Luckily we live in a very moderate climate year around. The house has double pane nitrogen windows thru out.. everything sealed and a new efficient wood stove just installed to replace the 1985 model Earth Stove.
The electric furnace is turned down to 65 degrees in winter and turned off in summer. and my electric bill for Jan and Feb was $238. I think we burned about 1 cord of wood this last winter. When the power goes off due to a wind storm I have a 10KW diesel genset ready to go that burns about 1/4 gallon per hour at normal house load. I think I have about 150 gallons of bio-diesel at any given time.

I drive a bio diesel 2000 Bugly that gets 45 MPG around town for commuting.

I think for now I am green enough

My trees are fruit trees... cherry( 5 types) apple( 8 varieties) pear ( 3 varieties) peach( 3 varieties) and english walnut's and my landscaping bushes are mostly blueberries. I have a garden with tomatos... peppers... garlic.. herbs.. green peppers and a LOT of cukes. I also just bought some banana starts and some giant bamboo that will grow here in zone 8..... mmmmmm bamboo shoots

[Cashmanimal 0]

Funny, I think Monkey and i were just talking about this a couple weeks ago...

I have spent this entire semester researching, creating advertisements and generating information media on sustainable architecture. I have learned a LOT... mainly that we really suck at conserving our resources.

Anyway, my answer, at least at this point, s i do a lot to make my apartment work green, but its more in a financial interest, so no, I wouldn't pay more. I struggle to make rent, so by having light bulbs and such that consume less energy is nice.. unless I have to buy them.

There was a couple in the bay area that were going to have a wind turbine built to power their home and save money.... I believe it was the Marin area. Anyway, they figured out how much a wind turbine would cost, and instead put all that money into buying an even larger house in Monterey, as they figured they would never experience financial benefits...

It's all fun and until someone loses an eye... then it's just a game to find the eye

[turtlespeed 221]

Is having a "green" home important to you?

Yes. It's kind of requisite.

I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama
BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun

[Dumpster 0]

I love toxic waste.

Easy Does It

[billvon 2,998]

>I love toxic waste.

It's really cheap if you want some. Heck, I bet they'd give it to you for free!