When It Comes to Buying a New Home: Go Green To Save Green

Energy efficient doors and windows can have a big impact on reducing your utility bills

Home buyers are going green, and research shows that they are even willing to pay more for green homes in a down economy! Especially because buying a green home usually means saving a lot of green on utility bills. With the rising costs of energy, savvy homeowners are paying more upfront to save more over time. A two-year study by Carson Mathews of Atlanta Fine Homes reveals that EarthCraft House certified homes sell for more money and sell faster than standard built homes. EarthCraft House is a residential green building program designed to address the climate conditions of the Southeast. A blueprint for creating and maintaining energy- and resource-efficient living environments, the EarthCraft House program is intended for single-family detached homes, townhomes and duplexes.

According to the 2009 and 2010 Atlanta Green Homes Sales Report, homes certified by EarthCraft, LEED for Homes and ENERGY STAR sold for 3.4% more than standard built homes and sold 28 days faster. To find a sampling of builders embracing green, home shoppers can turn to Atlanta Real Estate Forum for energy efficient home builders, the communities they build in and their latest news.

Active adult home builder, Windsong Properties has partnered with ENERGY STAR® to build energy efficient, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-approved homes in their Somerset community located in Woodstock, Ga. The home builder has built 50 ENERGY STAR® homes using eco-friendly products such as radiant barrier roof sheathing, LP® TechShield®, Silver Line windows with low-emission glass and high-efficiency Lennox HVAC home comfort systems. These homes are beneficial for homeowners as well as the environment. Proven to provide homeowners with less maintenance and lower utility bills, these energy efficient homes also improve air quality by producing less harmful greenhouse emissions. With an estimated 2 million ENERGY STAR® qualified homes expected in the United States by 2012, this trend is clearly not going out of style.

Ashton Woods Homes builds eco-friendly single-family homes and townhomes in the Atlanta area through its PowerHouse Green with Environments for Living program. This program ensures buyers are purchasing homes that are safe and green, with feature such as CFL lighting, water management fixtures, fresh-air ventilation, controlled humidity and more. Home buyers can expect to save up to 45 percent on energy costs compared to a same-size home without the PowerHouse Green features.

Taking a bit of a different twist on green, Traton Homes has focused on reducing the waste during the framing stage of building homes. By utilizing a highly engineered method of cutting and allocating wood based on Traton’s floor plan requirements, Traton’s framing process has virtually eliminated waste. When cuts do require waste, the excess pieces are used in other areas of the building process, resulting in an environmentally responsible and efficient use of left over materials.

There are a wide variety of green programs and energy efficient homes for new home shoppers to choose from. Thanks to Atlanta Real Estate Forum, a popular Atlanta real estate blog, for sharing this article! You can find green resources and homes on their website.

Source:  Our Green Atlanta on May 15, 2011 ·