What Is so Special about Today’s Green Homes?
What is in homes of today that make them greener than homes made even just ten years ago? To start with, new home designs have incorporated many different innovations to make them more efficient at saving energy. EnergyStar homes are springing more and more every year.
For an EnergyStar home to be qualified as such, it has to be at least 15% more energy efficient than a home built before 2004, and it also has to include energy saving features such that it’s 20 to 30% more efficient than a standard residence.
Starting with new construction, green homes of today incorporate many energy saving ideas. For example, when it comes to insulation in between walls, instead of using the old traditional fiberglass insulation, this has been replaced by recycled cellulose insulation. This insulation material provides much better insulation and fills up spaces in the walls and in the attic much better than fiberglass. There are a couple of different ways it can be installed, either in dry form, or by turning it into a semi liquid that can be sprayed in between walls. Cellulose provides a much better thermal protection layer than standard methods.
With green homes, you have a choice when it comes to power sources. No longer are you limited to being connected to your standard utility power grids, you have many other renewable power sources including solar, wind, and even geothermal depending on location. You can even combine solar power and wind turbines for a more reliable power source. These can easily be incorporated into new construction as well as in existing homes. There are many advantages including not having utility bills or worrying about brown and black outs or other power interruptions.
Besides these alternative power sources, you also can incorporate high-efficiency appliances that are currently on the market and are comparable in cost to other appliances that are not “high-efficiency.” Some of these options include efficient heating and cooling systems, stoves, clothes watchers, dishwashers, and heating and cooling systems, as well as such energy saving devices as tankless water heaters. You also don’t have to limit yourself to certain power sources. If you’re still connected to the grid, for example, you can use natural gas or propane as a more efficient energy source that other traditional “grid” resources.
For windows, there are many high efficiency windows with double panes. Some are infused with inert gases between the panes to help keep out harmful UV rays, and at the same time, keep heat and air conditioning from escaping. There are less expensive ways to save energy on windows, there are many types of film that can be applied directly to the window panes that provide the same protection.
There are many new techniques available to make your home more efficient right at the start, but the question many first time home builders ask is how much more does a green home cost to construct? The answer is that these homes can be up to 17% higher in initial cost to build, but the energy savings alone can pay for these extra costs.
Find out more about EnergyStar homes and appliances by doing some research on the Internet. Many of the materials such as the tankless water heaters or cellulose insulation, as well as others, can be bought at your local home improvement store, so that you don’t have to pay for shipping. You can also go to many websites that provide “do-it-yourself” information on installing these items, as well as plans and kits for renewable energy source materials, too.
About the author: Jerry Dyess has specialized in Texas Electricity for the past 7 years. Get more information on Texas Electric rates.
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