The demand for greener homes in real estate is shifting right now.  National Association of Realtors surveys show that 46% of buyers would prefer a “green” home.  According to a study by McGraw-Hill, about 2% of American homes have notable green features.  That study was done in 2007, so the numbers are certainly higher, but not by a lot.  How’s that for a disconnect that is between supply and demand?  It makes no sense to spend money building or remodeling and NOT choose greener methods and materials.

Right now, Americans are consistently responding in surveys that they will pay more for homes that have energy saving features, recycled or sustainable materials, save resources like old growth trees, and improve air quality.  Building a green home means using more environmentally friendly materials and practices, and setting higher standards for energy efficiency and indoor air quality, while reducing waste in the process.  It’s also not necessarily more expensive.

According to What’s Working (www.whatsworking.com), a 15 year old company that offers traiing on green construction, a green home can be built for less than 1% additional cost– and you’ll see the difference when you are ready to sell.  Many of our local Central Texas builders are making green and energy efficient features standard on new construction.  We can tell you which ones, and compare what they offer.  You will see a difference in your monthly energy bill, and in the value of your home when you are ready to sell.

Today’s ideal home is making way for new ideals: No or low VOC paints and materials, recycled glass tiles, recycled marble flooring and wood. Green materials are available in an array of beautiful choices, and living in a green home offers definite health benefits to you and your family’s respiratory system.

If you are planning to sell now, consider adding some green upgrades that will let your Realtor tell a “greener” story and set your home apart from the competition.  We’d love to show you how.

One: Eat Green!  It’s a great time to plant some cool season veggies like spinach, kale, chard, and broccoli.  We have the luxury in Central Texas of a long growing season, and the shorter, cooler days are perfect planting weather for many vegetables.  Google your county + agricultural extension for a list of times and varieties for your area.  If you aren’t a gardener, check out your local farmers markets where you will find organic, local and seasonal choices.  Better for your health (no pesticides, processing, additives) and better for the environment (less fossil fuel used in transportation and production, less packaging waste).  Buying local offers the added benefit of keeping more money in your local economy!

Two: Protect your indoor air quality

Cooler weather may mean more time indoors, so make sure the air in your home supports your health.  Products we use are the source for a substantial portion of indoor air pollution. Because of this fact, it’s essential to know what’s in the products you buy and opt for the most natural and non-toxic choices.  Call me for a “how to” list for making your own housecleaning products- saves money, packaging, and you won’t be adding pollutants in your home when what you are trying to do is make it clean and fresh!

After doing your best to eliminate the source of the pollutants, you should ensure your home is properly ventilated.  Have your HVAC system serviced before cold weather arrives, and check to make sure the air exchange is working optimally so you have the right mix of fresh air coming in.  It’s amazing that our indoor air-where we spend some 90% of our time, is typically more contaminated than outdoor air.  I can recommend an HVAC specialist if you like.  You can also use an air purifier in bedrooms, or to address allergies.

Three:  Conserve Energy!

The cleanest energy is the energy that is never used, so get your home energy efficient and you won’t waste money heating the great outdoors. Get weatherstripping fixed around doors and seal around windows.  Put plug covers on plugs (they are basically holes in your walls!). Consider doing an energy audit.  They are inexpensive and will tell you where you need to spend money to save money. For most homes, it’s insulation that offers the most bang for the buck.  Programmable thermostats are a great way to manage the temperature in your home cost effectively, and if you are an Austin Energy customer, there is still a program where you can get one free.  PEC has an online Home Energy Center you can use to evaluate your usage and save money.

The scope of the report includes the US market for building products that meet these definitions of ‘green’:

• made from salvaged, recycled, or agricultural waste content
• manufactured with resource efficient, environmentally friendly processes (minimize waste, energy consumption, pollutants)
• benefit the built environment (conserve enegy, reduce indoor pollutants)
• are recyclable at the end of their useful life

The goal of the report is to identify and prioritize business opportunities for providers of green building materials (and investors) that will increase over the next five years as green building technologies increase their market penetration.  It also offers profiles of the top companies in those markets. 

Buy the report or read more at www.bharatbooks.com

First, easily make your own cleaning solutions- Buy industrial sizes of white vinegar, baking soda, and some orange oil. Buy a non-noxious liquid soap like Mrs. Meyers and some Borax.  Buy or reuse a couple of sprayer bottles. Lay in a supply of microfiber cloths (so you can keep bathroom and kitchen cloths separate), rubber gloves, and a pumice stone.  You’re ready to go!

 Kitchen: Mix equal parts vinegar and water in your sprayer bottle for cleaning surfaces.  Especially greasy mess? Add a few drops of the orange oil. You will avoid combining toxic chemicals with food preparation surfaces.  Use baking soda for cleaning the inside of the fridge.  Make a paste of vinegar and soda for baked on oven messes (conventional oven cleaners have some of the most noxious chemicals going, and you will inhale them and introduce them into your food if you use them), and for stinky sink drains areas.  Stainless appliances?  A few drops of the liquid soap and wipe down with the grain.  If you have to have a commercial grease fighter to be happy, try Holy Cow in a gallon size, and mix with water in your sprayer bottle.  Not only are you eliminating toxic chemicals in your home, but reducing the demand for highly toxic chemicals in plastic bottles and all the environmental damage that goes with that entire process.

 Bathrooms: Use your 50/50 vinegar water spray here for surfaces and mirrors as well.  Baking soda paste scrubbed into grout and tub and sink gunky areas works great.  You can use Borax, which is cheap and non-toxic, for mildew areas in showers.  Industrial cleaners typically contain glycol ethers, which are easily absorbed through the skin and have been linked to reproductive problems and birth defects in animal studies.  Not a good idea, and way overkill considering the simple alternatives! 

Baking soda and your scrub brush to clean the “throne”, and if it needs whitening, hydrogen peroxide works or try (gently!) scrubbing stubborn stains with a pumice stone.

 While we are on the subject of clean, fresh smelling homes, please consider reducing or eliminating the use of aerosol sprays, scented oils, plug-ins, etc.  Many of these have not been tested for health effects, and add to the number of particles we breath in our indoor spaces that may contribute to allergies, breathing problems, and generally poor indoor air quality.  Opt for sensible ventilation practices instead; an open window when climate allows and use of vent fans to pull odors out.   

 Our Stanberry and Associates wish for you is a healthier, safer, and more eco-wise clean home for 2010, and a Happy New Year. 

 For further reading: 

http://www.seventhgeneration.com/show-whats-inside/cleaning-products-ingredients-guide

http://www.womenandenvironment.org/campaignsandprograms/SafeCleaning/recipes

HouseLogic green cleaning articles: http://tinyurl.com/yl4u7ha

UNEP’s report, “Buildings and Climate Change – Summary for Decision Makers,” emphasizes that buildings are an area of great potential to impact climate change. The report is a result of three years of study by the UNEP Sustainable Buildings and Climate Initiative (SBCI), a think tank and partnership between the United Nations and leading companies and organizations in the building sector.

Buildings account for more than 30 percent of worldwide energy use. Fortunately, buildings present vast opportunities to reduce energy consumption and related greenhouse gas emissions. Globally, buildings generate the equivalent of 8.6 billion tons of CO2 a year, according to the report, and this amount is expected to nearly double over the next two decades. Population growth and urbanization are cited as the impetus for new construction growth.

For example, new construction in China over the next ten years will be so prolific that it will equal the size of all existing buildings in the United States, the report says. Investment in new buildings is also expected in South Africa. UNEP warns booms like these will likely double the amount of pollution associated with energy use in buildings.

Along with the report, the climate summit served as the debut of SBCI’s global Common Carbon Metric for Buildings to measure energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions of buildings. The new metrics were created in conjunction with the International Energy Agency, International Standardization organization, World Green Building Council, International Initiative for the Sustainable Built Environment and Sustainable Buildings Alliance as well as private sector companies and associations.

This information adapted from greenandsave.com News

According to an AP story, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. in Pittsburgh recently installed a green wall the size of two tennis courts on one side of its headquarters. Green walls, similar to green roofs, are covered in vegetation and provide benefits of natural insulation and removal of air pollutants. PNC estimates that it will be 25% cooler behind the wall than the ambient summer temperatures.

The PNC w all features more than 15,000 ferns, sedums, brass buttons, and other plants that create a pattern of varying hues of green above the company’s logo. The assortment of vegetation is divided among hundreds of 2 x 2 ft aluminum panels that are anchored into the building’s frame. The wall itself covers nearly 2,400 sq ft with an average building cost of roughly $100 to $125 per sq ft.

Green Living Technologies LLC, Rochester, N.Y., designed the green wall at PNC, which appears to be a trend that is catching on, with green wall installations showing up in New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Seattle. The green roof will help cool the building, but it will also capture rainwater and release it slower into the atmosphere and stormwater systems.

Source: Dan Nephin, Associated Press — Consulting-Specifying Engineer, 10/15/2009 8:01:48 AM

While 15 percent might not seem like a lot in California where the mandate is 33 percent of the state’s total by 2020, the figure is pretty ambitious for a country with such a massive population and higher technological hurdles. In fact, 15 percent would be 13 times China’s current amount of energy generated by renewables (about 15 million kilowatts, according to VentureWire). The proposal would significantly revise a current target of 60 million kilowatts by 2020.

China surpassed the United States as the largest producer of greenhouse gases several years ago. Together the countries account for 40 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions in the world, according to the New York Times.

China’s goal — similar to many countries, including the U.S. — is to come up with a comprehensive and ambitious plan to present at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Cophenhagen in December, where the global community will attempt to reach a consensus similar to the Kyoto Protocol in 1997. Heavily criticized for its pollution problems and unsustainable development policies, China is hoping to improve its profile at the meeting, where it says it will pitch a 40 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions for the whole world by 2020.

Read the rest here- Green Beat

http://tinyurl.com/kqbbx9

The NASA/ALCA tests ‘Interior Landscape Plants for Indoor Air Pollution Abatement’ concentrated on solving the very important question: ‘Indoor air pollution is a realistic threat to human health, so how can the problem be solved?’ A promising, economical solution to indoor air pollution was to take a look at nature’s life support system, plants. The initial testing has been for the indoor purification of the air from the chemicals, Benzene, Trichloroethylene and Formaldehyde.

Benzene is a commonly used solvent in such items as gasoline, inks, oils, paint, plastic and rubber. Furthermore, it is used in the manufacture of detergents, explosives, pharmaceuticals and dyes.

Formaldehyde is found in virtually all indoor environments. Its major sources include urea-formaldehyde foam insulation, particle board or pressed-wood products. Consumer paper products, including grocery bags, waxed paper, facial tissue and paper towels, are treated with urea formaldehyde resins. Many household cleaning agents contain formaldehyde.

Trichloroethylene is a commercial product that has a wide variety of industrial uses. It is used in some printing inks, paints, lacquers, varnishes and adhesives.

In the NASA/ALCA research it was determined that some plants are better than others for purifying the air indoors. The twelve plants tested were:

• Bamboo palm, Chamaedorea seifritzii
• Chinese evergreen, Aglaonema modestum
• English ivy
• Fiscus, Benjamina
• Gerbera daisy, Transvaal daisy
• Dracaena ‘Janet Craig’
• Dracaena ‘Marginata’
• Corn cane, Dracaena massangeana
• Mother-in-law’s tongue, Sansevieria laurentii
• Peace lily, Spathiphyllum ‘Mauna Loa’
• Pot mum, Chrysanthemum
• Dracaena ‘Warneckei’

All plants were tested in a sealed experimental chamber during a 24 hour exposure period. Here are the results of the studies:

Gerbera daisy, Dracaena Marginata, Peace lily (Spathiphyllum), Dracaena ‘Janet Craig’ and Bamboo palm in order were the five most effective plants in removing Trichloroethylene concentrations from the air.

Gerbera Daisy, pot Mum, Peace lily, Bamboo palm, Dracaena Warneckei, English ivy and Mother-in-law’s tongue are the seven top houseplants for removing Benzene concentrations in the air.

Bamboo palm, Dracaena ‘Janet Craig’, Mother-in-law’s tongue, Dracaena Marginata, Peace lily, green Spider plant, and golden pathos are seven of the top plants for removing concentrations of Formaldehyde in the air.

It is estimated, as a result of this research, that 15 to 20 of these test houseplants can purify the interior of a typical house of 1,800 square feet.

In our homes and in space, it looks like we can count on these houseplants to help remove harmful pollutants from the air we breathe. At the same time, these are some of the easiest plants to grow and most attractive to use for interior decorating.

Thank you, Ed Hume for this info.  Visit Ed’s site for gardening wisdom and organic seeds!