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By Geoff Williams, FrontDoor.com | Published: 4/15/2010
But how in the heck do you find an energy-efficient, eco-friendly house? After all, homebuilders are pretty late to the pro-environment party. Just several years ago, McMansions, those oversized homes known for opulence but also high energy costs, were the darlings of the real estate market, and before that, it's not like the homebuilding industry (or any other industry, really) was preaching and practicing conservation. In other words, there are a lot of houses on the market that weren't built with saving the Earth in mind.
But that doesn't mean you have to wave the white flag and give up on your dreams of having an eco-friendly home. Nor do you have to accost every home seller and demand they fork over their utility bills (though asking politely to see a bill might get you somewhere). That eco-friendly house you want is out there. You just have to find it.
Or build it: The tried and true method
"If you're having a home built, work with a builder that promotes eco-friendly features who will be open to not only build to Energy Star or LEED specifications but has experience with eco-design that incorporates recycled materials, building materials that are free of formaldehyde, non-VOC paints, and more," suggests Leslie Mann, a real estate specialist with Hallmark Sotheby's International Realty in Hopkinton, Mass.
That's the easy way to go -- in terms of ensuring you get what you want -- and yet it's the hard way, too, since there are so many choices to make. For instance, just with insulation alone, Kati Curtis, an interior designer in New York City, could offer you numerous decisions that go far beyond, as the standard stuff is often dubbed, the "Pink Panther fiberglass insulation."
Curtis says that denim insulation, "made out of recycled blue jeans," is really popular, "and so is hemp insulation" (Hemp? Did I hear that correctly? "Yes, yes, you did," says Curtis). She adds, "There's a soy-based foam insulation that's also really, really efficient and popular now in a lot of green home construction. Some homes are even insulated with recycled newspaper."
She would know. Curtis's architectural and interior design firm, Nirmada, specializes in helping homes look not only aesthetically amazing but also achieve as much of a pro-environment nirvana as possible. And one can achieve plenty. If you want a plan or some direction toward a plan, you could go with some of these suggestions from Curtis:
