Letting the world help us design and build our "Dream Home."

My Army career is winding down after 23+ years and we've decided to live in Texas. Now it's time to build the house of our dreams...but we've never done this. So we want (need) the best and freshest ideas to build the home we'll live and raise our family in. WELCOME and thanks for your help.

Friday, May 20, 2011

Tell me again why we want to build a "Green" home...

I have come to the simple conclusion that half of being a green designer/builder is being able to interpret the "Green" certification checklists...ok, I know there is much more to it than this but have you ever downloaded and read one of these guides??  SEER, roof slope rating, permeability of driveways, VOC, etc, etc.  distance from faucet to heater - yikes!

Lots to think about for sure but then I got back to thinking: why is it that I want to build "Green?"  We all have different reasons -

  1. For some it's the satisfaction of doing our part for the earth and our local community.  
  2. For others, it's about energy efficiency and long term cost of ownership. 
  3. And still for others, it's a bit about #2, and hey, the "green" designs are often great to live in.

To be honest, I'm really reason #2 and #3.  Ok, ok, I can see that by going through this process, one can't help but be more informed of how these techniques help the environment (nobody wants oily water running down to the lake they swim in and why wouldn't I want to minimize scrap?)

But I'm looking for energy efficiency!  I don't think electricity is getting any cheaper, and as a guy who has spent 23 years in the Army, I understand the cost of defending our national interest in assuring our access to energy resources.

Now if during our quest to get a "green" home that sucks up as little energy as possible (or creates it!), we find ourselves living in a "wow - this is beautiful" home, all the better.  And I betcha that as more folks see homes started for reasons #2 and #3, they'll get smarter and more informed on Reason #1.

And isn't this good for everybody?
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3 comments:

  1. Schilling FamilyMay 20, 2011 at 5:25 AM

    Scott, I would never consider myself an environmentalist and I never believed in the science behind "global warming." However, I do believe in the green movement to conserve our natural resources as a Christian value we should all strive to have. I saw a documentary on Lisa Ling building her green house on HGTV and it has inspired me to do the same some day when I know I am ready to build. Good stuff, will continue to monitor progress and harvest your lessons learned.

    Jeff (Schilling)

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  2. Scot AreyMay 20, 2011 at 12:35 PM

    Jeff, thanks for reading. I've already met three builders, and a local Austin green homeowner (with a $14 enegry credit as their last "bill1").

    I hope to learn a lot and also hope you can take away some good ideas for you, Kelly, and your girls. Scot

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  3. KCMay 21, 2011 at 3:04 PM

    Actually Scot our latest bill is around a $20 credit! I love all your reasons for going green and I say whatever works. Let's use less, waste less and leave more for others. Besides, there seem to be so many fights over oil! Let's get away from the oil and concentrate on renewable non-polluting energy!

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