Green Housing Communities Lockhart TX

March 31 — Baby boomers are known for their devotion to preserving the environment - at least when they are not driving their SUV’s. So the big question is, will the folks who pioneered Earth Day look for green (sustainable) retirement and active adult communities? Just as important, will the marketers of those communities recognize the need and make the product available in an appealing concept?

We recently came across some examples of green communities, which is encouraging. Shea Homes, a large national home builder, has announced that environmentally friendly homes will be the focus of some of its new developments in Florida and other sun belt states. These homes will be so-called “eco-friendly”, and will have energy saving features such as solar attic fans, motion-sensor triggered lighting, energy-efficient windows and appliances, and garages with electric-vehicle charging stations. Some materials like insulation will be recycled. According to a report in Off the Grid , Shea says it has “focused on small, incremental green features that will add up to important energy savings.”

Meanwhile other developments are getting on the environmental, or green, bandwagon as well. Some retirement homes being built for the military in San Antonio feature solar hot water heaters. A retirement community builder in Maine, Sea Coast Management Co., has offered incentives to install solar water heaters as well as a Toyota Prius to home buyers.

Cohousing communities tend to be at the vanguard of green retirement communities. Although these communities might be a touch too new age for many people, they are almost always interested in preserving the environment, as well as sharing common facilities and ongoing connections with neighbors. These intentional neighborhoods, created and managed by residents, offer an innovative solution to today’s environmental and social challenges. Here is a link to a directory of co-housing communities .

How green is green? As Carol Gulyas wrote at Topretirements last year in “ Looking for Green Retirement Communities “, it is important to evaluate “eco”, “green”, and “environmentally sustainability” claims carefully and sceptically. Many active adult community builders talk about green, but the reality is not always up to the promise. She suggests that you learn more about what it really means to be environmentally friendly - and then ask questions of builders to be sure. Of course part of the equation is how much baby boomers will pay for when it comes to the environment. That’s because for now anyway, being green takes some green.

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Baby boomers looking to retire in a very “green” way often end up being frustrated. The main reason is that most active adult communities are anything but environmentally friendly - they are located far from community centers so they require lots of driving, they don’t always use the most energy-efficient materials and systems, and they usually ignore alternative energy sources and low carbon footprints. The alternative for those truly dedicated to the movement is to strike out on their own, which though might be fun, can also be expensive and prone to trial and error.

The Wall Street Journal published an eye-opening article earlier this year on the “ Green House of the Future “. The Journal asked 4 leading architects to come up with a home design that was environmentally friendly - and possible. The results were amazing:
- A house like a tree. The “bark” of the building contained photosynthetic layer that captures sunlight. The home had a lot of other cool features as well.
- So why not a house like a lizard. Cook + Fox came up with a home that turns “dark in the bright sun to insulate the house”, and clearer on dark days to help warm the house.
- The Incredible Edible House. The concept from Rios Clementi Hale Studios featured a home with edible crops like chickpeas on the outside. The food being grown not only helps feed the occupants, it provides insulation. Windmills and water capture are other features of the home.
- A “breeze chimney“. The home from Mouzon Design has many typical energy generating features such as solar panels, but it also has an old architectural tool, the breeze chimney to help heat and cool the home.

Recycled Green Homes in Phoenix
Green Street Development in Phoenix is winning kudos for their LEEDS certified remodelings in downtown Phoenix. The concept is sound, why not turn former tract homes either in town or near public transportation lines into zero energy consuming homes. While the firm is pitching the project towards young urban professionals, in our opinion they are missing half of the boat - retiring baby boomers who not only want to downsize but be near the urban action too. Listen in to the PBS podcast , it’s most interesting.

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July 22 — If there is one “cool” trend in home building today, it is going green. A number of factors have come together to make the green (environmentally sustainable) movement the potential saving grace of struggling home builders across the world. In fact, a McGraw-Hill Construction/National Association of Home Builders study predicts that “The market for green housing will grow to from as little as $12 billion this year to between $40B and $70B by 2012.”

Obviously the high price of oil is factor number 1. With oil prices skyrocketing, residential buildings, which account for 21% of U.S. energy consumption (source: U.S. Energy Information Administration), are an easy target for money-saving ideas. At the same time, environmental awareness and interest (thank you Al Gore) has never been higher. Taken together, it is no surprise that a recent Harris Interactive poll by Move, Inc. (operator of Realtor.com) showed potential homebuyers more interested in green features in homes than they were in luxury amenities. The survey found that almost half of (49 percent) said features such as solar panels or energy-saving appliances were “important,” compared to just 31 percent who rated luxury amenities important.

Investing a few extra hundred or even thousand dollars in energy conservation has a faster and faster payback as energy prices climb. Builders are taking notice, offering homes with enhanced conservation and even energy generating feaures. Meanwhile California became the first state in the U.S. to adopt a new building code that requires a number of energy-conserving building practices across that giant state. The code approved by the California Building Standards Commission mandated measures including recycling of construction waste, energy savings, potable water conservation, etc. Other communities such as Marin County, California and Aspen Colorado also have imposed green building code requirements. LEED’s Certification, which sets certain standards (Gold, Silver, Bronze) for energy conservation, etc. are also being developed and considered elsewhere.

More
Check out all the interesting “green” building articles in the July 2008 issue of Builderonline.com
Here’s a cool video on how one “Builder fights rising energy costs”
Looking for Green Communities

Click here to read the rest of the article from TopRetirements.com