You’ve heard a lot about “going green” in the past year and may be adjusting your lifestyle to reduce your own carbon foot print. Well, one of the best things to do in the Real Estate business is to build or buy ”green.” We had the privilege of hearing a presentation by Jim Green of Lumber One in Cold Spring about the “green” homes that he has built, and the many benefits of doing so.
First of all, did you know that Minnesota is a leader in green building? Number 3 to be exact, and working our way to number 1. Some of the features of a green built home include:
*95% efficient natural gas furnaces, sealed duct work, all light fixtures have CFL(compact flourescent) bulbs, advanced wall framing, insulated hot water lines, carpet that can be recylced into new carpet, low VOC paints and primers and Energy Star appliances. They also use as many solar tubes in the home as they can to let in natural light during the day time hours. Dual Flush toilets that save on average 6,000 gallons of water per year, are also standard in a green built home. If everyone was to use these toilets, think of the improvements it would create! The most suprising green feature to us was the use of drought tolerant plants in the yard to cut on watering costs. With the dry times around here, that would not only cut back on water usage, but the frustration of having your landscaping ruined by drought.
In order for a home to be considered “green built,” builders must adhere to the requirements on the MN Greenstar New Home Checklist. They are awarded points for every requirement that they meet. In order to be a certified green home, they need to accumulate 276 points. There are also two higher levels to attain; Silver and Gold. To be classified as those, you need 419 and 554 points respectively. The elements that go into the house should not only be efficient, but come from within a 500 mile radius of the home to cut back on car emissions.
Jim Green belongs to the National Association of Home Builders and spends much of his time educating people on the benefits of building green. There are many statistics explaining why building green or buying a green built home is more efficient than buying a used home. This is the best way for home owners to reduce their carbon foot print, and save themselves money in the end. For more information on going green, call Jim Green at 320-980-4761!
