For Homebuyers
During your homebuying journey, you may have conversations about green homes being energy efficient or built more sustainably. While these concepts overlap, they’re not the same. Energy efficiency focuses on reducing energy use, while sustainable building takes a broader scope—considering materials and methods, indoor air quality, water conservation, waste management, occupant health and more. Sustainable building aims to achieve long-term balance: meeting our needs without compromising future generations by minimizing negative environmental impacts throughout a building’s lifecycle. Energy may be the starting point, but sustainable building takes it to the next level.
There are a number of different programs in the market—some focused on energy, while others are focused on both. We would like to share a bit about our builders’ BUILT GREEN® certified builds. These homes have been built taking a holistic approach to sustainability that includes energy efficiency and then goes beyond addressing the preservation of natural resources, reduction of pollution and GHG emissions, ventilation and air quality, the improvement of home durability, and more.
This approach means using advanced building technologies that consider the home as a system or a sum of its parts to ensure you will enjoy a healthier home, with increased durability and a lower environmental impact. These homes are affordable with a reduction in monthly operating costs, rebate eligibility, improved resale value, and more.
Economic Benefits
- Reduced monthly operating costs, automatic mortgage loan rebate eligibility, and long-term cost savings: on water, electricity, and gas bills—while increased durability cuts on renovation costs.
- Homes with green certification sell for close to 10% more on average than homes without. And in jurisdictions where an energy assessment is necessary before a home is sold, this saves you $300 - $500.
- Plus, as our programs are affordable for the builder, this helps translate to a more affordable green home.
A Healthier, More Comfortable Home
- Less stress on the respiratory and immune systems; for those with allergies, benefits can be significant. Choose options like VOC- and formaldehyde-free building materials, third-party certified floor coverings, and Heat Recovery Ventilators that circulate air and remove allergens—contributing to improved air quality and fewer toxins and dust in the air.
- Significant reduction of drafts, cold spots, and temperature variance from room to room, due to the program’s attention to the home’s air tightness and ventilation.
- Options like triple-paned windows which, in addition to offering superior insulation (energy efficiency) and air tightness, offer substantial sound reduction from outside.
Increased Durability
- Durability is one of the most overlooked aspects of a sustainably built home.
- BUILT GREEN® homes can feature a wide variety of durable features—from engineered lumber that resists warping to extremely durable exterior features such as 30-year shingles to waterproofing foundation walls.
- More durable homes will not require substantial renovations every five years.
A More Efficient Home
- Our homes are resource efficient, reducing their environmental impact, both during the build and in the day-to-day operation of the home.
- Options like energy efficiency—furnaces and air conditioners, windows, appliances (Energy Star), etc.; electrical efficiency—Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL) and Light-Emitting Diode (LED) to timers and motion sensors to whole-home automation; and water efficiency—water-saving toilets to low-flow showers and faucets to xeriscaping and more.
Third-Party Certification—Look for the Label
- Third-party certification recognizes the authenticity of the home through energy performance reporting and verification of the green features integrated into the build. Usually, the label is affixed to the electrical panel—if it’s not, ask for it. And certification offers bragging rights—show off your label, plus consider investing in a metal plaque that you can integrate on the outside of the home or on the sidewalk.