Green Home Options

[depeche2u]

My wife and I are building a new home, and have done some research about a green home and energy efficiency for a green home. There are pros and cons for each option. A lot of options have that hybrid car feeling, where the rate of return is poor, but you feel like you are giving your self a pat on the back.

What do you consider a must for a green home? (e.g. VOC free pain, formaldehyde free insulation, etc. )

What things provide a good rate of return? ( e.g. blown in insulation, icynene foam spray insulation, tankless water heater, etc. )

What things are nice, but uneccesary luxury items? ( e.g. radiant heating, air exchanger, etc. )

[rbarz]

VOC free paint should be a must for any home, not just a green one.

For me, in my own home, There is no cost benefit analysis on a product that is damaging to your health... The cheapest cabinets available would never be worth it if they were made with formaldehyde. And I could never decide how much of my health is worth $2 a gallon for paint.

I have to run for now, but will return to edit this into a better answer because it is easier to cost benefit the "carbon footprint"

[cgallagher]

My wife and I are building a new home, and have done some research about a green home and energy efficiency for a green home. There are pros and cons for each option. A lot of options have that hybrid car feeling, where the rate of return is poor, but you feel like you are giving your self a pat on the back.

What do you consider a must for a green home? (e.g. VOC free pain, formaldehyde free insulation, etc. )

What things provide a good rate of return? ( e.g. blown in insulation, icynene foam spray insulation, tankless water heater, etc. )

What things are nice, but uneccesary luxury items? ( e.g. radiant heating, air exchanger, etc. )

Your best, and most variable return on investment, will be your insulation package. Certainly we have come a long way from practices of the old days. The newer minimum standards set forth in the building code are head and shoulders above the old methods. Going to an Icynene system will certainly pay itself off over time, but expect to pay double that of fiberglass insulation and you have to factor in the uprades required to the HVAC system. Icynene requires outdoor intake systems that are 16 SEER minimum and 90% or better efficient furnaces. Price all that into the system, and you will have to take a shot of vodka. But it will pay for itself. Who knows, with energy prices always going up, you may look like a genius some day.

My current opion of the tankless system is that it really never pays for itself. You will have a lot more comfort with a high efficiency tank and a recirculating pump loop.

Radiant heating. Lol. How often will you use that?

Solar panels are still overly priced. I wish they made windmills for individual homes. Not sure how that would go over in the neighbors though.

With the goal of green in mind, there will be a lot of garbage to sort through. There are "Green" light bulbs like LED's which are highly efficient but produce a different spectrum of light that not everyone is used to, but heck at least they're expensive. There are water reclamation systems, but do we really have water shortages in Houston? There are even "Green" disposals. That's right enviornmentally friendly ways to grind up your old spagetti. What you have to look at is that the entire industry has jumped on board and began marketing everything they have as "Green" even if it provides no direct benefit. If they can sell it green they will. It will take a lifetime to master it all.

Good luck, and if you have a specific question, we'll probably have an opinion on it.

[TheNiche]

I wish they made windmills for individual homes. Not sure how that would go over in the neighbors though.

They do make roof-mountable windmills for houses, however if you're planning on living in a neighborhood with trees (and tree shade is another "green" feature) then that kind of windmill isn't likely to be very effective.