Do you know what a Green Certified Home is and why it matters?
Green Certified Homes have been through a rigorous process to ensure the home and its design, build, systems and finishes comply with an independent 3rd party certification program. This has many benefits, most importantly a home that is safer, healthier, and more comfortable for its people living there. Other benefits include maintainability, durability for the home to last longer, as well as the financial benefits of lower operation and maintenance costs and potential better re-sale. Whichever of these benefits is most important, each offers real advantages for the people living in the home and can help people find a home that works best for them.
Health and Safety
For many of us, one of the most important benefits of a green-certified home is that it is healthier and safer for the people who live in it. Improved indoor air quality is provided through exhaust and fresh air ventilation (remember the V in HVAC is for ventilation). Kitchen, bath, and clothes dryer exhausts are all critical, and additional ventilation is often included. Reducing pollutants and contaminants will also contribute to improved air quality.
Choose low or no-VOC paints, adhesives, finishes (or pre-finished components), and flooring to decrease the amount of pollutants and toxins unknowingly built into the home. Increased filtration and air cleaning can help clean whatever pollutants and contaminants manage to sneak through. Reducing moisture through better exhaust and preventing moisture problems not only improves the air quality but also helps keep mold and pests at bay.
Cost Savings
We’ve all heard “green” homes save money on utility costs, but how? For most homeowners, heating and cooling makes up a significant portion of the cost to live in our homes. A modest investment in energy efficiency can have noticeable returns. A green-certified home is held to rigorous energy practices to ensure the envelope of the home (walls, roof, windows, doors, and floor) is tightly sealed, keeping the comfortable air we paid to condition inside instead of out. An insulated house with an appropriately sized and efficient heating and cooling system is a cost-effective complementary pair. Energy-efficient hot water, lighting, and general appliances also avoid costs by simply being able to do more with less power than older models and standards of technology.
Other factors like durable materials and lower maintenance costs also contribute to the cost savings of a green-certified home. These upfront investments in quality often pay off well over time in avoided cost and labor. A good homeowner education and resource program also helps ensure a green home’s performance by being a comprehensive, easy-to-use owners’ manual with educational and operational resources.
Comfort
The comfort of home comes from more than just the recliner in the family room. We find peace in a home that keeps us cozy from the elements. Warm or cool where and when it should be, free of drafts, appropriate humidity level for the climate, this definition of comfort is a big part of the dream. Green-certified homes achieve this time after time. The elements of a green home combine to provide the creature comforts important to our individual, daily quality of life.
Re-sale of your Green Certified Home
Green-certified homes often have excellent resale value. A number of studies have shown that Green Certified homes sell faster and for a higher price. Ensuring the value of this home is shared and accounted for is key in achieving shorter times on the market as well as commanding a higher sales price.
It is important the home is certified because certification offers proof the buyers will get what they pay for. While location, the economy, and local property values are always key in real estate, a green home is poised well to sell faster, and for more.