My Green Glasses

Two Shades of Green

// November 21st, 2009 // Green Living

I learned that there are two shades of green. Some people believe that building a green home means its going to cost you thousands of extra dollars. This is simply not true for everyone. You can have a green home, it just all depends on how involved you are with your builder and your decisions for your home.

One shade of green home features include the energy-efficiency standpoint.  A green home uses less energy, saves energy and can be affordable for just about everyone’s budget. This is a matter of what appliances you choose, what type of HVAC system you get, and the type of insulation quality. It also depends on the size of your home and the inside structure. All the builders I’ve talked with are using cellulose insulation, which is made recycled newspaper. There is an automatic green feature that doesn’t have to cost extra. None are using the fiberglass (itchy stuff) insulation anymore. Although I’ve read from the North American Insulation Manufacturing Institute that some fiberglass is made from recycled glass. Hmm…?

The second shade of green features the eco-friendly, renewable material standpoint. These are what I consider the bells and whistles of the green home. It may be the metal roof, recycled glass countertops, bamboo wood flooring, low VOC paint, etc. The best advice is shop around, compare prices and figure out where the discounts are!

We have met with our potential builder and he gave us homework. We are to come up with our Need List and Wish List. For example, the Need List includes a standard roof because you need one of those, but the Wish List includes a roof made from metal because it is our desired green feature.

We will have to see what is affordable. Of course, you can have anything you want for the right price.