Line Between Traditional and Green Home Construction Fades
AEN News
Washington - As the nation prepares to celebrate Earth Day,
home building finds itself at the brink of a new era with
the line between traditional and green building continuing
to fade, said National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)
leaders at a press teleconference.
"Since the 1990s, the National Association of Home Builders
has been preparing our members for the time when green building
goes mainstream. On Earth Day 2006, I think the goal is in
sight. We are that close," said NAHB Executive Vice
President Jerry Howard in the teleconference.
According to a recent survey conducted by NAHB and McGraw Hill
Construction, there has been a 20 percent increase since
last year in builders dedicated to green building issues.
The number is expected to rise by another 30 percent in
2007 to 64 percent of builders either heavily or
moderately involved in green building projects, the
survey said.
Howard and NAHB Green Building Subcommittee chair Ray Tonjes,
a custom builder in Austin, Texas, attributed the soaring
numbers to the increased availability of energy efficient
materials and to education - both for builders and for
home buyers.
"Green homes are equipped with more efficient heating and
cooling systems and energy efficient appliances and
lighting, and they use less water, all resulting in lower
monthly utility bills. Their use of recycled materials
will further help to conserve natural resources," Tonjes said.
NAHB Research Center Vice President of Contract Research Tom
Kenney agreed. "Over the past decade, material suppliers
have developed alternatives to lumber- since old-growth
solid lumber is such a highly valued and increasingly
scarce resource," he told callers. "These engineered
materials are resource efficient and are currently
used throughout the country."
"We can call green building mainstream when it doesn't look
or feel significantly different from the kinds of homes
that buyers are used to - and when we know that consumers
are ready to buy them," Howard said.
"When the survey asked home builders why they are building
green, 92 percent said it was 'because it's the right thing
to do.' I am certainly not surprised. Home builders want
to do the right thing in the communities where they live
and where they do business. They always have done that,"
Howard said.
Complete survey results will be available from McGraw Hill
Construction in May.
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