Responsible Building
My wife and I were riding around town and stopped by to look at some new homes that had models open. There are several sites in our once small town that are busy with new construction. We had gone to a few of them and I was sorry to see one common theme.
None of these new homes had any energy saving features built in. One site had banners about their Green living, but It had more to do with landscaping than the homes themselves.
As I was touring the model homes I was looking for features such as tankless water heaters, motion sensors and timers for lights. Some kind of updated control system for heating and cooling would have been appreciated. Some sort of solar power system would have sold me.
Instead, I saw the same kind of cookie cutter houses that have been built for years. The larger the square footage, the more rooms that seemingly had no purpose. In one model you could stand in a certain location and see three separate dining room tables. I am not sure who thought that was a realistic way to decorate a home
In my town, here in northern California, the average home goes for around half a million dollars. I would think, for that price, I would be seeing some upscale features. How much would it cost to include a decent size solar unit? I see them advertized from $10k to $30k installed. One would think that a responsible housing project could add these features for less than that and I think people would pay the small percent extra to have an environmentally friendly home.
A quick internet search came up with several solar companies. SunPower Corporation was one of many I visited. SunPower has a feature where you can look up new home communities that have implemented their solar system in the construction.
Granted, a solar power system is not the right solution for all areas. And they can be a little pricey. All the better to get it with your new home when you are already financing. If you are looking to buy a new home, look up companies in your area that are implementing green practices in their construction. Invest in energy saving technology and environmentally friendly housing today for a cleaner tomorrow.
