Green grows popular as home design plan
The Langston family didn’t set out to be “green” when they bought a home near Furman University in Greenville, S.C.
It sort of sneaked up on them.
“Initially, we weren’t looking for that,” John Langston says about their new home’s Energy Star certification and its EarthCraft status. “We were just looking at the quality of construction.”
“It’s all new technology to us,” his wife, Lindy, says of the environmentally friendly features of their home.
For the most part, of course, the earth-friendly and in turn, money-saving, technology is new to everyone. And it’s coming to a home near you.
Let’s call 2008 the year of the green home.
According to the National Association of Home Builders, the green homes market is expected to increase to 10 percent by 2010, about double today’s rate.
Largely, the demand is coming from home buyers, not from builders themselves. Nearly seven in every 10 consumers believe energy conservation is important or extremely important, the NAHB said.
The same study says buyers who place a priority on energy-efficiency and green building also are more likely to value other environmentally friendly features, such as proximity to parks and public transportation, and having sidewalks or walking trails in a neighborhood.
Todd Usher, president of the Home Builders Association of Greenville and president of Addison Homes, says builders in Greenville are starting to catch on to national trends.
“Energy-efficiency, green building, those are definitely trending upward in 2008,” he says.
Lansing-area developer Scott Fairmont credits the environmental awareness in part for the continued success of his Sanctuary housing development in Okemos.
Sales on pace
Despite a local housing downturn, Fairmont said sales have kept on his projected pace of 12 a year since 2006. He said 33 of the 48 lots are sold. New homes in the subdivision average about $550,000, he said.
“Here in this community there’s always been a market preference to environmentally sensitive development,” he said.
Fairmont said he works to leave natural habitats, from woods to wetlands, undisturbed while he builds houses around them.
Those houses aren’t mandated to be “green,” he said. But most buyers still want to pay extra to upgrade insulation and appliances to be more energy efficient.
“When energy was cheap people weren’t as conscious or concerned about it,” he said. “It’s a pocketbook issue.”
Cost can still be a factor. Take, for example, an energy-efficient tankless water heater. A traditional 40-gallon tank water heater may cost about $350, while a tankless heater is about $1,000.
The Langstons say they didn’t even realize their 4,900-square-foot home - 3,200 feet finished and a huge, 1,700-square-foot basement - was so green until they started reading and poking around.
“When you find out you’re going to use 33 percent less energy than a standard house of the same size, that gets your attention,” Lindy Langston says. “We pay $104 a month for electricity on a fixed payment plan and we’re heating almost 5,000 square feet.”
Cutting energy costs
Other features that save the Langstons on their energy costs are a programmable thermostat, thick insulation, energy-efficient windows and a tightly sealed house.
They also got tax credits for their tankless water heater and their energy-efficient windows.
Other builders have made their homes greener by upgrading landscaping - or even saving existing native trees and plants - and using site orientation to take advantage of sun and shade throughout the year.
Use of recycled materials also can earn green credibility.
While the Langstons weren’t exactly green coming in - although Lindy does work for Duke Energy as an employee assistance counselor - they’re sold on it now.
“We’ve loved living here,” she says. “We love this house.”
State Journal business reporter Jeremy W. Steele contributed to this story.
