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“The owners are always in the driver's seat,” says George
Watt, the architect behind The Ridge at Chukker Creek in Aiken, SC, a
sustainable community brimming with gorgeous green homes. Mr. Watt is
passionate about building sustainably and creating warm, nurturing homes where
“all that groovy green technology can fade into the background.” Through his
experience, he has developed a homeowner-friendly approach to designing green
homes that helps to clearly outline costs.
“The first thing we do is create the least expensive
upgrades first,” explains Mr. Watt, of how he and his clients begin planning a
new green home project, which he approaches as a multi-step process. He prefers
to start with the framing plan, opting for an OVE (optimum value engineering) or
“Smart” framing system. This practice requires less lumber and allows for
better insulation – something that saves the homeowner money both upfront and
down the road. “We saved $4,000 on our lumber package for the first home we
built at The Ridge,” he recalls.
Next up is insulation. Mr. Watt finds the most bang for
his homeowner’s buck in spray foam insulation, which is literally sprayed into
the wall cavity in foam form, which expands to fill every nook and crevice.
After creating a tight home envelope, he moves on to windows and doors (Mr. Watt
suggests Cardinal Glass, a new, more efficient type of low-e glass called LoĒ³-366®).
“At this point in the process you are basically cost
neutral when you take the lumber savings into account,” reports Mr. Watt. Net
zero. That’s a good place for a homeowner to be, especially when it has
afforded him or her a very well-built, efficient home.
“Moving on,” he continues, “we start to spend money – on
things like better appliances, lighting, furnaces … but the homeowner should
feel in control of each decision.” Fortunately, Mr. Watt has also noticed that
many green finishes have been coming down in price, and in some cases are no
longer more expensive than their traditional counterparts.
As the homeowner evaluates the benefits of each available
upgrade and its effect on the bottom line, it is important to remember that the
true cost of a green home has to be viewed as a total cost of ownership – the
combination of the initial investment and operating costs down the road. Better
quality materials and higher-efficiency systems repay homeowners with lower
utility bills and reduced maintenance. And other benefits, such as improved air
quality, have no monetary value to factor into the equation.
Mr. Watt’s optional “last step” is also the priciest and
will take the longest to recoup – providing power. The decision to generate
power onsite – through methods such as solar or geothermal – is not yet for
everyone, but the industry is improving. Mr. Watt likes to remind homeowners
that the investment, when annualized over a 30-year mortgage, is not as
significant as the initial sticker shock may seem.
If you are building a new home but are not ready to commit
to generating power, consider planning for the future. “There are so many
things you can do,” Mr. Watt attests, “like pre-plumbing for solar hot water.
Then, in the future, you can put panels on the roof and a boiler in the basement
without disrupting your home.” At a recent project in Colorado, this
pre-plumbing only cost homeowners $180 per home. This is a reminder that a
vital way to control costs when building or renovating a green home is to have
thorough planning from the start. “Retrofitting green ideas as you go along is
far more expensive,” he says.
Another important technology that is helping to bring down
the cost of building highly-efficient, top-of-the-line green homes is systems
building. Throw out any of your pre-conceived notions about systems-built homes
– today, using the method of prefabricating a home in a climate-controlled
warehouse and assembling it permanently on a homesite can result in a beautiful,
expertly-crafted and customized home.
One of the more prominent forms of systems building is
panelization, which, as the name suggests, involves prefabricating panels or
sections. This method drastically decreases building materials’ exposure to the
elements, thus increasing quality, and can allow for better efficiency and less
construction waste. Perhaps the most noticeable impact, however, is the
drastically reduced onsite construction time. A recent home that Mr. Watt
designed using SIPs (structured insulated panels) took approximately an extra
month of design time, but the house was erected onsite in four days, eliminating
nearly two months of construction time. Opting to work from a model plan
offered by a builder is another way to cut costs further.
All American Homes, one of the nation's largest modular
builders, began last fall to offer super-insulated, passive-solar homes. The
homes, available in 36 states, generally cost less than $150 a square foot.
Asheville-based Deltec Homes can build a house producing 22 percent less waste.
Its round houses are more energy-efficient because less surface area is exposed
to the elements, while its shape naturally is more aerodynamic.
However, building green is not limited to new construction
– it’s ideal for home renovation projects, too, (you can’t get more green than
“recycling” an older home). If you are thinking about a home renovation or
simply want to look into some simple updates to your existing home, consider a
Home Energy Audit. “It’s a great way to learn about cheap, expensive, small and
big improvements that you can make to your home,” says Mr. Watt, who advises
that homeowners should look for a certified and accredited auditor. Be sure to
check their references, too.
Another way to “self audit” before making improvements
and/or to keep track of their performance afterwards is to install a Web-based
eGauge Monitoring System. The technology monitors everything from your home’s
systems (such as HVAC) to major appliances, and creates reports online for
homeowners to review. “Homeowners can graphically see how their lifestyle
affects their utility bills,” says Mr. Watt, “and by showing people how they
live and how they can improve their bills – such as that it’s cheaper to run
your dishwasher at night than during the day when rates are the highest – they
can save 10% without even upgrading any systems.”
With all of the savings, it’s also important to factor in
the intangibles. “The way I look at cost is not just in the money I spend,”
continues Mr. Watt. “It’s certainly important, but I look at the carbon
footprint. Lowering that is the only way to help the problem of global warming,
bit by bit, and I don’t know how you put a dollar value on that.”
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First time homebuyers share their
green home buying experience.
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