How green can you go?: House combines efficiency, accessibility

Dave DeWitte, The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Sep. 29--I mprovements in energy-efficient home building are causing some home buyers to ask: How green is green enough? A new 3,661-squarefoot house completed this fall in Solon will likely have heating bills of only $223 a year and cooling bills of only $34 annually, according to a home energy rating. The home's carbon footprint will be less than half of a typical house of the same size.

The house uses so little energy that "it's almost like saying the house is off the grid," says builder Don Otto of DPO Homes.

Yet the homeowners could have chosen to do even more. The house is the new home of Denny and Marilyn Hansen and

goes far beyond the requirements for an Energy Star rating, the most common benchmark used to declare a home "green." It scored five-plus stars on the Uniform Energy Rating System, which ranges from one star to five-plus.

The number of homes in the United States to achieve the Energy Star rating is expected to hit the 1 million mark this year, and the Environmental Protection Agency is considering expanding nationwide a certification program for home water conservation.

For the Hansens, it was a matter of balancing green features with their desire for a home that would accommodate them for the rest of their lives. They wanted a home large enough to comfortably entertain guests from out of town and zero-step entry points that would enable them to get easily in and out of the home if their mobility becomes limited.

One of their primary motivations was a home that would not unduly contribute to global warming or burden themwith rising energy bills after they retire and are living on a fixed income, said Denny Hansen, 58, a fire department training officer.

Interest in green home building is exploding, but builders say most buyers are ordering up a small serving of energy efficiency instead of going for the whole green enchilada.

Most buyers don't take energy efficiency or green practices as far as theycan, because they can't shed historical perceptions that value is defined by the amount of space they get for the price of the home, not by the amount of comfort it provides them or the cost of heating, cooling, lighting and maintaining it, said Drew Retz, president of the Greater Cedar Rapids Area Home Builders Association.

The critical thing to remember in designing agreen home is to start early, said builder Gary Frakes, past president of the Greater Iowa City Area Home Builders Association.

Frakes said the homeowner can often make green improvements just through the orientation of the house on the lot. Putting an unheated garage on the northwest corner of the house, for instance, can insulate the home from the prevailing winter winds in Iowa, and placing large windows on the south side can allow for more solar warmth in the winter.

mortgage payments, Otto said. The savings vary with the design and materials of the home, but the main difference is simply in how quickly the paybacks arrive as energy prices climb.

Green builders tend to dispute the notion that homeowners have to trade space or other amenities for green features because of the costs.

Buyers who invest in a highly efficient home typically save enough on energy bills to more than offset higher monthly

– Contact the writer: (319) 398-8317 or david. dewitte@gazcomm.com

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