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.
What does it mean to be an EnergyStar home? An EnergyStar home has to be at least 15% more efficient than those homes built before the year 2004. This type of home also has to have other features that allow consumers to save energy, thus making them at least 20 to 30% more efficient than those houses or residences not marked EnergyStar.
Beginning with new construction, today’s green homes incorporate some of the newest energy saving ideas. For example, today’s insulation is not the old traditional fiberglass insulation used previously. Instead, it’s made of recycled cellulose insulation that’s better than fiberglass and also fills up wall spaces much better than fiberglass does. The cellulose insulation can be installed either in dry form or as a semi liquid that can be sprayed between walls. It also gives better thermal protection than standard installation does.
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.
Alternative power sources are just one facet of green energy, though. High efficiency appliances are also part of the program, and cost roughly the same as other regular appliances. These can include appliances like refrigerators, washers and dryers, stoves, tankless water heaters, or high-efficiency heating and cooling systems. Power sources are interchangeable here, too. For example, if you are still connected to a traditional grid setup, you can use more energy-efficient, clean propane or natural gas as your power supply for those appliances.
Insulating factors matter, too, and windows are no exception. Double paned, high-efficiency windows can do a number of things to help with energy savings. Some are constructed with inert gases between the panes so that harmful UV rays are kept out, even as they keep heat or cool from escaping from within the house. If you choose not to replace your windows, you can still save energy, such as applying films to the windowpanes to seal them up and protect against UV rays, less expensively.
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 specializes in Texas Electricity news and Texas Electric prices.