Houston Lifestyles & Homes magazine, June 2007

GreenHaus's LEED home could blend easily into most suburban neighborhoods.

The term “green” describes anything that helps conserve the earth’s resources. Whether you are building a new home or renovating an existing one, every household can incorporate features that will support environmental conservation, better health and an improved quality of life.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification standards, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, have become the nationally accepted benchmark used to measure the degree to which a building can be considered green. And, while the LEED rating system has been available to evaluate commercial buildings for years, a program targeted to address residential design will not become available until later this year.

The USGBC began a pilot test for its new LEED for Homes program close to two years ago, and plans to publicly launch its new home-rating system this summer. One of the pilot homes in the trial was built in the Houston area, and it, along with others, is helping to define and refine the LEED for Homes checklist that green builders will soon be using to complete their projects.

Michael Strong, CGR, CAPS, vice president of GreenHaus Builders, was the builder on the Houston project. His company specializes in building healthy, high performance, energy efficient homes.

The floor-to-ceiling glass in this room permits a great view of the yard but is recessed to prevent unwanted heat gain.

“It’s not about just energy efficiency anymore, it’s also about building a healthy home,” said Strong. “If you look at the chemicals being emitted from your wall paint, from the glues in the flooring and in the carpet and other adhesives, we’re sitting here breathing out of a hair spray can—it’s horrible, horrible stuff that’s just not good for us. You see people suffering from Alzheimer’s and cancer at higher rates than ever before, and it’s because our homes are toxic. And, they also happen to be inefficient when it comes to conserving energy.”

Basically, going green will reduce the negative impact your home will have on the environment and on your personal health. Some of the benefits of living in a LEED certified house include lower energy and water bills; reduced greenhouse gas emissions; and less exposure to mold, mildew and other indoor toxins. According to the USGBC, the net cost of owning a LEED home is comparable to that of owning a conventional home.

In order to become one of the first LEED certified homes in the country, the Houston pilot house was rated in several categories including: location, water efficiency, indoor air quality, use of materials and energy consumption.

“In this particular home, the biggest concern was placing the house on the site so that you would keep your west facing windows to a minimum, because that’s the hottest part of the home,” said Strong. “Then we had to make sure the southern elevation was free so that solar electricity would have access to the southern part of the roof.”

A 3kW photovoltaic solar system provides about 15 percent of the home’s power. The stored solar energy collected through the solar panels is the first source of energy used by the house. When the solar stores are empty, the home will then draw from its local energy provider. The solar energy system is valued at about $25,000.

“The payback is a long way away, but it’s going to get shorter and faster. Utility prices are only going to go up, not down. You’re spending the money regardless each month,” said Strong.

The pilot home was painted with non-toxic, zero-VOC (volatile organic compound) paints by Sherwin Williams rather than traditional household paints that generally contain several VOCs, including benzene, formaldehyde and toluene—which have been linked to health problems such as eye, nose and throat irritation, nausea, headaches and even cancer.

Dual flush toilets were installed in every bathroom to reduce water consumption. These high-tech commodes allow you to press a small button if you need a little bit of water or a big button if you need more. Even the strongest flush setting uses less water than a standard toilet.

The home is also more efficient in the way it heats its water—using a tankless heater—and consumes energy to operate appliances. All of the appliances, as well as the windows, are Energy Star rated.

Overall, the $1.5 million Houston pilot home is helping to set the standard for green home building in America. And, it’s showing homeowners, builders and designers that going green can be a real investment. Both the Texas and federal governments offer a tax credit to homeowners who go green. “You can get up to $5,000 in tax credits at the end of the day, and that comes off the bottom line of what you owe,” said Strong.

High-end designers are embracing these new eco-friendly practices. “Reduce, reuse and recycle,” said Peggy McGowen, president of the American Society of Interior Designers. “There can be a lot of glamour in green, but it is rarely convenient—it takes a little more thought.” According to the Texas Gulf Coast chapter of ASID, sustainable design is the fastest growing segment of the interior design industry.

And while “going green” may seem like just another passing trend in the home market, the movement is, in fact, inching its way towards becoming the new mainstream standard. It’s not a question of are green homes here to stay? It’s a question of how green will they be?