| Substainable Home Building GREEN BUILDING AND THE BOZEMAN REAL ESTATE MARKET The town of Bozeman Montana is surrounded by a vast and generous landscape of mountains, rich flowing rivers and streams, valleys of flowers and forests teeming with wildlife, and a huge, wide open sky which has fondly become known as Big Sky Country. Living in such beautiful surroundings, it is only natural that a growing number of homeowners in the Gallatin Valley are building homes with the intention to protect, preserve and reflect the beauty and integrity of our most precious natural resources. These homes are called Sustainable, or “green” homes, whose guiding principles are both nationally and locally recognized and whose ideas are being incorporated by some of the area’s most esteemed architects and builders. Certainly, the Bozeman real estate market is offering an increasing amount of green homes by a unique and growing collection of sustainable home builders. Although there are various national and state certification programs for green building, here are some of the general guidelines that characterize a home for being green: Environmentally friendly site selection or “footprint” for the home. Builders will choose a sight to orient the house to maximize natural sunlight for heat and light, as well as shade for cooling. This results in the home’s furnace and air conditioning not having to work so hard to maintain a comfortable environment. Also, locating the home near schools, parks, shopping and other service will keep the amount of driving down which clearly benefits the environment. Implementing energy efficient designs, materials and appliances to build a tighter, more energy saving house. Because higher insulation standards and Energy-Star-certified appliances have evolved over the past decades, energy efficiency is often the first place builders start when going green. Tighter houses mean less outside air infiltrating the home, and the indoor climate is much easier to control. Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFL’s) use a fraction of regular incandescent bulbs, while the Energy Star appliances are certified to meet strict guidelines about how much electricity they require to operate. Reducing a home’s water consumption through low-flow fixtures. Low flow showers, toilets and dishwashers and washing macines conserve on water use. One new technology in this field is the incorporation of air into the process which decreases the amount of water being used without sacrificing the pressure of the water. Sprinkler and drip systems, as well as incorporating native plant and rock landscaping reduces the amount of water needed for excessive amounts of water. Promoting a healthy indoor air environment. Air-tight homes are critical to energy efficiency in green homes, but can also affect the indoor air quality that oftentimes is more polluted than the outside air. Low or no VOC paint and stain products, natural wood cabinets, pure wool or wood flooring can help eliminate some of the indoor fumes, but green builders often use an fresh-air ventilation system or whole house fan which pulls air from the inside of the home and vents it to the outside. Pulling warm air from the furnace heats the house in the winter, and pulling cold air from the cooler Montana evenings keeps the house cool and comfortable in the summer. Material Conservation and waste reduction by the use of sustainable products. Engineers in the building industry have designed products to save lumber by using optimal value engineered (OVE) materials that require minimal trimming and waste. Green builders are known to recycle job site waste and use it for mulch. Also, using materials like bamboo flooring are popular with green builders as an alternative to hardwoods. Bamboo is durable, beautiful and often less expensive than wood. More important, bamboo is a fast-growing grass, not a tree, so it takes more of a matter of years to mature, where hardwoods take decades. Currently, there are no national regulations or standards for green building, but that soon may be changing. The United States Green Building Council, a non-profit group based in Washington, DC is currently testing its LEED (Leadership in Energy Design) for Homes pilot program in 12 different regions across the country. They are hoping to have a national standard in place by late 2007. In 2004, the National Association of Homebuilders has created its Model Green Home Building Guidelines. These guidelines provide education for builders and helps regions establish their own climate-specific, market-appropriate programs. NAHB also announced that to further promote green industry advances, it would create an American National Standards Institute-accredited residential green building standard to be completed in 2008. There are also about 70 regional groups across the country promoting green building in their own areas. In Bozeman, for example, the Yellowstone Business Partnership, in partnership with The Nature Conservancy are researching the need to manage—not discourage—growth that supports biodiversity, open space and resource conservation on a large scale with neighborhood development, and sustainable construction methods and energy conservation on a small scale with green homebuilding. Local builders here in Bozeman are distinguishing themselves in the sustainable housing market. Bozeman Building Traditions has created a unique subdivision comprising of a cluster of 5 single dwelling homes called Sunfish Park. Located near the East Gallatin Recreation area, these homes are Energy Star rated and have a strong solar aspect featuring 1.4 KW of solar panels per house. They are also equipped with hydronic radiant floor heating, super insulated double stud construction rating up to R-35 factor in the walls and R-49 in ceilings. Penny Lane Homebuilders is also making a mark in the green industry with a two story home in the Baxter Meadows Subdivision. This gracious well-appointed home features a high efficiency allergy reducing heating and ventilation system, bamboo and slate flooring, high efficiency on-demand hot water heater and no or low VOC paints and adhesives. Her homes are Energy Star Certified, and meet standards for Built Green Montana. With a degree in architecture, and a passion for building green sustainable homes, Penny fills a unique niche in Bozeman being one of the few home builders in the area with a women’s eye for design, functionality and beauty. Visit Penny at www.pennylanebuilders.com for more information. To learn more about green sustainable homes and the fine group of builders here in Bozeman Montana, please feel free to contact any of our Sales Associates at Heart of Montana Realty. We are always happy to be of service with your Bozeman real estate needs. Or take a look at our website for sustainable homes for sale in Bozeman at www.heartmontana.com. |
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