Green Building
Outdoor Rooms Add Usable Square Footage
Working with your custom home builder in a part of your home you may not have imagined, you can add useful square footage in the form of an outdoor room. Backyards are too often laid with grass and beyond that, left virtually empty, save a swing set, rusty old grill, or tract of space for your dog to run.
Outdoor Kitchen
Modern outdoor rooms have expanded upon the old backyard favorites in ways that provide function in a luxurious package. Simple grills have been replaced with built-in outdoor kitchens with massive stone and pizza ovens, perfect for entertaining year round. Warm summer nights can be enjoyed outdoors with friends over a fresh baked pizza. Cold winter nights are made warm by gathering around massive stone ovens, while piping hot soups boil up atop an outdoor stove.
Outdoor Living Space
Tattered patio furniture has been become a thing of the past. Replacement options include built-in seating units with removable cushions, tall stools seated before an outdoor bar and rustic wooden dining tables and chairs. Built-in furniture, like benches and sofas can add a natural appeal to your outdoor space at a minimal carbon footprint by using indigenous materials.
Indigenous Landscaping
No room is complete without the right decor. And for outdoor rooms, that means landscaping. Working with your HealthyBuilt Certified Home Builder, you can incorporate native plants into your outdoor space, which will require little to no maintenance. Eradicating plants that are exotic to Western North Carolina in favor of native species will create harmony in the ecosystem of your outdoor space to ensure the health and well being of forces who also appreciate your outdoor space, such as migrating birds.
Since recent studies suspect perfectly manicured lawns as one of a home’s largest carbon producers, transforming your dull, grassy space to a luxurious outdoor room can even be beneficial for the planet.
Whether you’re looking to add life to your existing home in the form of an outdoor room, or you want to create a special entertaining space in your new custom build, speak with your home builder to make use of this valuable space.
Window Labeling for Tax Credit Eligibility
Will your Energy Star windows, doors and skylights meet this year’s newer, more stringent requirements? Your green home builder will be able to help you select the most energy efficient products for your home, but it’s not a bad idea to familiarize yourself with these important new labels.
Earlier this year, new performance requirements went into effect on all ENERGY STAR windows, doors and skylights. Knowing how to identify these labels when purchasing your new energy efficient products is vital to making good investments and ensuring eligibility for tax credits.
Red and Black Labels
ENERGY STAR Red Label
There are two new ENERGY STAR labels to watch for. The label shown at right was rolled out in October of 2009. Appearing in either red or black, this label identifies window, skylight and door products which will no longer meet the high-efficiency ENERGY STAR standards effective April 1, 2010.
Blue Label
ENERGY STAR Blue Label
The new, blue label will help you identify ENERGY STAR products that are eligible for tax credits up to $1,500 when installed in 2010.
To ensure the highest level of energy efficiency and tax credit eligibility in your ENERGY STAR purchases, it is always important to consult your green home builder.
Tips for Choosing Kitchen Appliances
One of the most exciting rooms to customize when having your new home built is the kitchen. And no kitchen design is complete without the right appliances. Key factors in the selection of your new appliances include price, method and frequency of use, as well as the look and feel of the pieces.
Budgeting for the Right Appliances
Kitchen appliances typically account for about nine percent of the budget when building a new home. Therefore, the life expectancy of each of your new appliances should be a long one. Plus, whether or not your new house is a HealthyBuilt green home, you may want to consider installing EnergyStar appliances which may cost more upfront, but will save money on energy bills over time.
Use of Your Kitchen Appliances
Refrigerators can eat up the biggest chunk of your appliance budget, so choosing the right one for your home and family is vital. Some internal features to consider are shelving depth and space, Twin Cooling technology, gallon door door bins and water filters. While the external look, feel and dimensions of each piece are vital to maintaining design harmony in your kitchen, first considering your family’s cooking style and eating habits will help determine which one is right for you.
Talk to your family and make a note of how you typically use your stovetop and oven to help select the right ones for your new kitchen. Some cooks are loyal fans of gas ranges, while others prefer the sleek look of modern electric stovetops. While the overall look and feel of your kitchen appliances is important, performance and preference take the lead in selection.
The kitchen sink is becoming an increasingly popular site for putting your design eye to good use. Attractive hardware, under-counter mounts, different color options, shapes and materials all allow you to express your inner kitchen designer.
Your new kitchen appliances each serve a unique purpose, but by working with your builder, each one can be integrated into the design of your new kitchen to create an inviting space for both cooking and gathering.
Get Tax Credits for Solar Hot Water Heaters
Tax Credits for Solar Hot Water Heaters
Long, hot baths don’t have to be a waste of energy. Solar hot water systems can heat the water for your kitchen or bath without running up your electric or gas bill.
In fact, many homeowners are now replacing traditional hot water heaters with solar powered systems, proving to be a revolution in green building. Solar water heaters use collection plates and highly insulated storage tanks to harness the power of the sun, thereby reducing carbon footprints and saving money on energy bills.
Systems are categorized as either active or passive. Active systems circulate the water within the tank using pumps or coils. While passive systems rely on gravity and the water’s natural temperature based circulation. An experienced green builder can advise you as to which system fits with your solar water heating needs. Some factors to be considered include your home site, local building codes, and the size of your family.
Whichever system you choose, the benefits can be astounding. According to some statistics, solar water heating systems can reduce your monthly utility bill, essentially paying for itself in less than five years. Your home builder can also help you to comply with federal tax credit regulations regarding a new solar hot water heating system to further help in covering the costs of the unit and installation. Federal tax credits will pay for up to 30% of the cost of installation of an energy star solar water heating system, but only if the system is installed before the deadline of December 31, 2016.
It’s important to contact your green building specialist as soon as possible to discuss the solar heating options for your home to start saving money and energy. Whether you’re building a new construction or updating the system in your existing homes, it’s a win-win situation for all homeowners.
Smart Home Automation Systems
Custom home by Brock Builders
Do you like the idea of coming home to the lights properly illuminated, a favorite song playing and the air or heat turned to a desirable temperature? What about the ability to open the front door with a keypad lock or fingerprint and no longer needing to fumble for keys? Home automation, better known as smart homes, make this and much more, possible.
Smart homes have the ability to simplify our daily lives into one of freedom and convenience. When building a custom home or undergoing a home remodel, it is important to work with a qualified general contractor who understands home automation. While you may only have the need for a basic package, such as a lighting system, it is still recommended to use a general contractor to assist with the wiring and installation.
What exactly is smart home automation?
A smart home is not just a home of the future, but rather an integrated way to wire a home to a network that controls all of the functions at once. Whether you prefer to use a remote control or wireless access is dependent upon the amount of home automation you wish to have. The heart of the smart home system is the network, which feeds from one main source of wiring and eliminates the need for several components, such as DVD, CD player and lights that are individually controlled.
Home automation systems are available in easy-to-use kits that allow the homeowner the freedom to install timers and wireless gadgets with the ease of a remote. The remote often controls appliances such as lighting, HVAC, and stereos. True home automation, however, is a much more complex system yet features many benefits and simplifies day-to-day activities.
Energy savings are just one of the many benefits of having an automated home, as the homes are typically more efficient. Some home automation systems heat and cool based on the time of day, while others adjust the temperature when someone is physically in the home. The networks can also automatically tell appliances to reduce function levels or go to “sleep,” thus lowering electric bills.
For those only wanting to program the home’s lights and HVAC, smart home technology is not as expensive as one may think. But for those looking for a more complex automated home, there are several exciting advances in wireless home automation and home automation electronics. A few new examples include:
- Programming your thermostat, oven and music from the Internet when not even in the home
- Illuminating the home with light before pulling in the driveway, or out of town to simulate someone is home
- A set of security cameras tied into the lighting system and doorbell
- Having a video feed of your favorite television station and making it visible in every room of the home you enter…and more!
Whatever you envision in a home of the future, chances are likely that it can be done. As technology and imagination continue to grow, smart homes will hopefully one day work in complete harmony to improve our daily functions.
Follow Me
Recent Posts
Categories
Links
Photos of Our Work
