A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Connecticut

Even a few changes can help you save energy and protect the environment.

Local Companies

Century21
203-633-6161
246 wolcott rd,Ct 06716
Naugatuck, CT
Shaw's Landing Waterfront Condominiums
860-442-7724
400 Bank Street
New London, CT
Laura Testa, Nationwide Homes
203-648-6648
57 North St. Suite 322
Danbury, CT
Peter Testa at Nationwide Homes
203-442-3873
57 North St #322
Danbury, CT
Action Realty, LLC
860-224-0400
PO Box 1392
New Britain, CT
RealtyQuest
2036564993 25
15 Corbin Drive
Darien, CT
Ruspini Realty, llc
203-410-9484
2 Sound View Drive
Greenwich, CT
Pete Testa, Nationwide Houses
203-442-3873
40 Lake Avenue Extension
Danbury, CT
Ventura Group Realty
203-517-4445
WWW.VENTURAGROUPREALTY.COM
Stamford, CT
Licensed Connecticut Home Inspections
203-748-0400
109 Federal Road
Danbury, CT

provided by: 

It isn’t easy being green, a famous frog once lamented, but when it comes to your home it’s getting easier and easier to go green.

You can go big or you can go small when you go green, but even small changes can help you reduce your carbon footprint – your personal impact on global warming based on the amount of carbon-based energy you use.

About 80 percent of consumers say they want a green home -- but less than 50 percent said they were willing to pay more money to get one, said Stephen Melman, director of economic surveys for the National Association of Home Builders, or NAHB.

The NAHB recently approved green-building guidelines that are adjustable for different parts of the country. The organization argues green homes don’t have to cost more than other homes, or look like an experiment in alternative living.

“When a house is green but looks like other houses in the neighborhood – and can be replicated by large-scale building companies – then we know green is mainstream,” NAHB President Kevin Pressly said in a release. “We’re seeing that happen right now.”

The more popular green building becomes, the more companies will manufacture green products, and the less they will cost, Melman said.

Here are some ways suggested by the NAHB to make your home more green:

  • Install energy-efficient windows that use technologies including low-emittance (low-E) glass coatings, gas filler between layers and composite framing materials.
  • Use recycled plastic lumber and wood composite materials instead of hardwood for decks, porches, trim and fencing.
  • Install more efficient heating and cooling systems that are properly sized based on your home’s square footage, and consider a tankless water heater. A geothermal heating and cooling system uses renewable energy to provide heating, cooling and even hot water at little monthly cost.
  • Increase the amount and quality (based on R-value) of insulation to reduce heating and cooling losses. (Heating and cooling represent at least half of the energy used by a home.) Some newer types of insulation can be healthier, with little or no emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and more efficient.
  • Don’t stop at the attic and walls when it comes to insulation. Foundations and crawl spaces can be insulated, too.
  • Install low-VOC carpets to improve indoor air quality. Other environmentally friendly flooring choices include linoleum, a natural product, and laminates that look like hardwood.
  • Buy more-efficient appliances. ENERGY STAR-rated appliances use an average of 30 percent less energy than standard models. Front-loading washers use 40 percent less water and 50 percent less energy than top-loading washers.
  • Install plumbing fixtures that use less water. Early low-flow toilets didn’t flush very well, and old low-flow showerheads didn’t provide much water pressure. New technology has solved those problems.

 

Find more tips on how easy it is going green at the NAHB’s Web site, www.nahb.org. You can read up on ENERGY STAR homes and appliances at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Web site, www.energystar.gov. The EPA offers additional green-building tips for homes at http://www.epa.gov/greenbuilding.





Published on May 02, 2007

Read full article at realestate.com

Featured Local Company

Century21

203-633-6161
246 wolcott rd,Ct 06716
Naugatuck, CT

Regional Articles
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Ansonia CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Bethel CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Bloomfield CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Branford CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Bridgeport CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Bristol CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Cheshire CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Danbury CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach East Hartford CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach East Haven CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Enfield CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Glastonbury CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Greenwich CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Groton CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Guilford CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Hamden CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Hartford CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Manchester CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Meriden CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Middletown CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Milford CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Naugatuck CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach New Britain CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach New Canaan CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach New Haven CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach New London CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Newington CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach North Haven CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Norwalk CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Norwich CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Plainville CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Ridgefield CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Rocky Hill CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Shelton CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Simsbury CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach South Windsor CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Southbury CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Southington CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Stamford CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Storrs Mansfield CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Stratford CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Torrington CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Trumbull CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Vernon Rockville CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Wallingford CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Waterbury CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach West Hartford CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach West Haven CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Westport CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Wethersfield CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Willimantic CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Wilton CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Windsor CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Winsted CT
- A Green Home Is Within Your Reach Wolcott CT

Rss   Delicious   Digg   Add To My Yahoo   Add To My Google   Bookmark   Search Plugin

Topics:
Advertising Family Home Services Real Estate Resources
Business Services Fashion Industrial Goods & Services Retail & Consumer Services
Career Financial Services Insurance Software
Cars Food & Beverage Internet Technology
Computer Hardware Franchise Legal Telecommunications
Construction Health Miscellaneous Trade Shows
Education Holidays Nightlife Travel
Entertainment Home Appliances Online Database Weddings
Environmental Home Electronics Pets World History