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Green Homes Sell For More: Confirmed!

Before joining Earth Advantage Institute (EAI), I moved to Bend, Oregon and built the greenest house that I could afford. I just sold this house in a down market. The asking price was $30,000 higher than the market value and I received a full-price offer less than twelve hours after the ‘For Sale’ sign was planted out front.

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Net Zero Homes – Not Just Design, but Results

Two projects that aspire to be net zero homes have just been completed in central Oregon. I say aspire, not because they have fallen short somehow, but because the homes have just been finished. It’s too early to know for sure that they have achieved true net zero status. Net zero homes are those that balance their total energy need with on-site energy generation. Over the course of a year, they will generate the same amount of energy as they consume in that same period. Earth Advantage Institute worked closely with the designers and builders to help them develop a home that should achieve net zero. In order to know for sure, each home will be monitored for a full year. The homes were built by Solaire Homebuilders and W.H. Hull Company.

Computer energy modeling of the plans helps estimate the energy use and production. The home’s thermal envelope (walls, ceilings, floors and windows) have been carefully built to reduce space heating and cooling needs to tiny fraction of a typical house. Each home has a solar water heater that should cut energy for hot water by 60 percent. That leaves lights, appliances and anything that’s plugged into the wall. I like to joke that energy models are always wrong, and technically that’s true. It’s impossible to accurately predict future energy use for an individual home. However, space heating and water heating are more predictable than the lights, appliances and “plug loads.” These categories are entirely under the control of the most unpredictable element in the house: people. 

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A Consumer’s Guide: Solar Hot Water or Solar Electricity?

So you want to go solar, but can't decide which type of solar energy system to install. Should it be a solar water heater or a photovoltaic (solar electric) system? It's not just a matter of technology. Household size is one very important factor. A standard solar water heater in Oregon is sized for a family of four, and will produce between 2500 and 3000 kilo-watt hours worth of energy each year. However, smaller families may not use all of this energy, leaving some of it wasted.

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Don’t put a V-8 in your Vespa

Would anyone think it’s wise to put a V-8 engine in a Vespa scooter? Well, I can think of some suicidal television talent that might think that was cool. With the famous last words -- “Watch this!” -- they would ride into oblivion. But, most of us aren’t showing off for the camera. 

We’re more or less rational, so applying unnecessary power to a problem seems wasteful. But that’s standard practice for most new homes built with forced air systems. With today’s modern energy standards, a forced air furnace is typically oversized. For example, a new, 2200 sq. ft. home built to the current Northwest ENERGY STAR (2008) standard would have a design heat load of about 28,000 btu/hr. That’s the amount of heating capacity needed to keep the house comfortable in the coldest expected conditions for western Oregon and east of the Cascades. 

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From Here to Zero Energy Buildings

In a typical year, millions of houses are built. Each house will last 50 to 100 years. Today each new house encumbers society with a debt of energy required to operate it over its life. The vast majority of houses built today are old-fashioned energy hogs and each one is a missed opportunity.

Energy visionaries have set their sights on homes that create more than they consume. In ten to twenty years, every new building could be a “zero-energy building,”  Or “net zero.” The technology exists today, all we lack is the proper motivation. 

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What does it take to make a green home?

It’s more than bamboo floors and low-VOC paint.  A green home contains a collection of design elements, materials, and equipment assembled with careful attention to detail.

The global economy is about to enter the zero-energy generation. Over the next 2 decades, residential buildings will evolve to a point where they generate as much energy as they consume over the course of a typical year. Because it is generally less expensive to conserve energy than it is to generate energy, this “net-zero” energy approach starts with the outside shell: floors, walls, and ceilings. It’s like an overcoat and requires as much insulating value as can be accommodated in the walls, ceilings, and floors. Air leakage must be restricted as much as possible by sealing every opening, crack, and penetration with caulk, gaskets, or expanding foam sealant. Windows lose 7 to 10 times more heat than walls, so the windows must be oriented to maximize or minimize heat loss and solar gain as appropriate to the local climate and building design. The building shell has no moving parts and should last the life of the house, so it pays to make it as efficient as possible at the outset.

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Benefits of Third-Party Certification

Third-party certification offers many benefits to home builders. The certifier is an independent company that assists the builder in identifying green building measures, such as those above, and then ensures that the measures are properly installed. Many builders want to build green, but may not have all the necessary experience or information.