What Makes A Home Green?

A green home can go by many different names, such as a resource-efficient home, high-performance home, smart home, sustainable homes, or eco-home.

These homes saves money on operational costs by using resources like energy and water economically and provides a comfortable, healthful living environment for the residents .. who doesn’t want that?

Resource-efficient can also include use of low embodied-energy building materials that originate from sustainable sources and contain no harmful substances or off-gassing volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

Often homes with green features also come with certifications, here are a few of the most common in Canada: ENERGY STAR®, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), and BUILT GREEN®. Certifications provide credibility in the marketplace because the quality and resource-efficiency has been verified by independent raters.

Not only are green homes comfortable, sustainable and less expensive to operate but they fetch more in re-sale. The market-edge provided by certified homes is a powerful incentive for purchasing a certified home.

It’s important to note, that not only new homes are Green! Just about every replacement and remodeling job is an opportunity for greening an existing home. It opens the possibilities for choosing many of the same environmentally friendly and innovative building products and systems that go into new-home construction.

I’ll be using this blog to explain more about options for greening an existing home and what to look for when shopping for a green home! Stay turned for many more