A small house can have a big impact when it comes to reducing the environmental footprint of a house. Sustainable and energy efficient homes tend to be smaller homes, which inherently have fewer square feet inside and fewer acres outside. The interior costs less to heat, cool and light, leading to lower energy consumption, and a minimally sized lawn, if any, needs minimal maintenance, reducing emissions and contributing to a much healthier environment. healthy. But there is more to a “green house” than meets the eye.
A green home doesn’t need to look like it was built for the year 2100. In fact, many green homes look, from the outside, like other homes built in new subdivisions. But inside and in some unseen places outside, these abodes are unusual. Features such as rainwater harvesting systems, a roof designed for solar installation, carpeting made from recycled materials, and wind power are just a few of the ways a home is built with the environment in mind.
The greenest of greens are residential homes built to be certified to the highest standard of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system. Consistent with standards provided by the US Department of Energy’s Building America program, LEED has long been used for commercial and government buildings, but housing certification is a relatively new phenomenon. One way a green home is defined is its rating of being at least 40 percent more energy efficient than standard code homes.
Purely as a matter of construction cost, smaller houses are more likely to be built as “green” houses. Many of the systems that are built green don’t come cheap, and fewer solar panels and smaller self-sufficient heating and cooling systems equate to a smaller construction budget. The elements that make a home a green home have come down in cost in recent years, but building a basic LEED-certified home still costs about $3,500 more than it would to build a regular home. The highest-level LEED-certified house costs about $29,000 more. The smaller the house, the less expensive the process will be. The same concept applies to existing home renovations or “greening” an older home.
An example of a company that successfully fuses the concepts of “green” and “small” is seen with the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company founded by Jay Shafer. Shafer started building small houses because of his concern about the impact a larger house has on the environment. More than 10 years later, these “tiny” portable homes not only minimize square footage, but the green homes are fully insulated with double-pane windows and a proper heater.
More and more homebuilders are greening the American Dream. It is suggested to verify a builder’s credentials by applying for their ANSI-approved ICC-700-2008 National Green Building Standard certification (see http://www.nahbgreen.org for more information). Take a look at these online builders:
Atlas Home Contractors, atlashomecontractorsinc.com
BPC Green Builders, bpcgreenbuilders.com
Castalia Homes, castaliahomes.com
Dominion Homes, dominionhomes.com
Grady O Grady, gradyogrady.com
Integrity Builders, homesbyintegrity.com
Jurenka Custom Homes, jurenka.com
Ondra Home, ondrahomebuilding.com
RC Green Builders, rcgreenbuildersaz.com
Summit Custom Homes, Summitcustomhomeskc.com
Zero Energy, zeroenergyllc.com