Green building features are a hot topic of discussion right now for new-construction homes. Custom home builders are at the forefront of real world applications for green buildings that are functional, beautiful, and eco-friendly.
Sustainable homes are better for homeowners to live in, since they save money and use safe, non-toxic components. But they also sell faster and for more money. Using a green certified builder and building a green certified home adds a level of confidence in the quality and an assurance of true sustainability.
Green Building Standards and Certifications
Green certifications are standards that quality builders adhere to when building sustainably. There are many green certifications. The gold standard is the well known LEED certification for the home, but there are other high quality, important certifications for home builders to qualify for, including the U.S. Green Building Council, Energy Star, and the NAHB Certified Green Builder.
Each of these certifications provide excellent guidelines, and any one of these will make certain that your home is authentically eco-friendly. RES takes this so seriously we have all of these certifications available. In fact, as one of the most respected builders in the area, we recently completed a LEED Gold rated home.
What Is “Green Building” for Custom Homes?
Green building practices include designing and constructing homes that use sustainable building materials and set the home up to use resources wisely. The most important elements are energy consumption, water usage, and non-toxic, sustainable building materials.
The top 10 Green Building Features for New Construction Homes
- High quality construction of walls, floors, windows, and insulation are the most important for the long term energy footprint of the home.
- Solar elements like passive solar orientation, solar water heaters, and panels
- Cool roofs and living roofs – products or designs that reflect the sun’s energy away from the roof and hold less heat help reduce energy usage.
- Water conservation elements like low water use fixtures and appliances.
- Recycled and sustainable materials. Everything from recycled jeans used as insulation, to old barn wood for flooring; what is old is new again, and it’s good for the environment and for your custom homes’ sustainability
- Smart home technology to make efficient use of electricity in the home for heating, cooling, lighting, and appliance use.
- Non toxic and sustainable building products, flooring and furnishings, like formaldehyde-free kitchens and bathrooms are gaining popularity, and for good reason, these impact indoor air quality and our health
- Open concept architecture is not only visually pleasing and functional, but the reduced material use has a positive impact on the sustainability of the home.
- Green walls. We discussed the impact of green roofs, but living walls and earth walls have an impressive impact on a home’s energy efficiency as well.
- Lighting. Here again, the energy efficient choices for the home can be balanced with the impact of natural light on the use of electricity in tandem with eco-friendly choices for interior and exterior lighting systems
Are You Ready to Build Your Green Home
Depending on your needs, you may want to use our expertise to build your Energy Star approved home. Or you may have a vision for an integrated design for a cohesive, eco- aligned system. In any case, we are the builder of choice for sustainable building custom homes in the Prescott area. Give us a call today at 928-776-0301 or visit us right away to check out our certifications and our gallery of sustainable homes at https://prescottbuilder.com/.