News Home

Directories
  Int'l Realty
  US Realty

Colorado is home to the largest green building initiatives in the United States. Home builders, developers, city planners, landscape architects and business leaders are working in tandem to create the country's first large-scale green community development projects across the state. Fifteen percent of development in 2001 was "green" and by the close of 2002 they expect that 10,000 Colorado homes with a market value of $2.5 billion will have been built to the standards of Built Green Colorado, according to Kim Calomino, the Built Green Colorado program director. Builders use the Built Green Checklist which stresses environmentally sensible practices that improve energy efficiency, cut pollution, reduce water usage, improve indoor air quality, preserve natural resources and reduce maintenance and operating costs in demonstration projects throughout the state. The checklist was initiated by the Home Builders Association of Metro Denver and supported by joint resolution with the Colorado Association of Home Builders, calling for energy and resource efficient community development to take the lead in the state by 2004. According to the National Association of Home Builders, consumers benefit from green buildings in the following ways:

• Lower operating costs: Homes built to green building standards require less energy for heating and cooling. What's more, the appliances in a green home are also more energy-efficient. A green home also saves water through water-conserving plumbing fixtures and landscaping materials.
• Lower maintenance costs: Free time is precious to today's families. Green homes feature lawns that require less watering and weeding, along with low-maintenance exterior building products.
• Healthier living: A green builder takes many thing into account when building the home, such as moisture control, and ventilation needs, and features such materials as low VOC paints - all of which contribute to a more comfortable and healthy indoor environment.
• Increased home value: Owners of green homes generally report higher resale value, since they can show prospective buyers the benefits through documented lower monthly utility bills. In addition, more buyers are asking about home performance these days, reflecting the fact that there is also a growing segment of the population that places a higher value on homes that are resource- and energy-efficient.

Pat Rioux

| IRED Home | Search IRED |


© 1995-2009 IRED.Com, Inc
All Rights Reserved