GreenSage E-zine 11/2008

Green Homes Grow — A Case Study
Energy Efficiency Priority for Builders, Buyers
By Jessica Foster

Rob and Jenny Edwards' two-story house doesn't look all that different from those that flank it in their neighborhood, but there's not another home like it in its state.

It's the first house in South Carolina to meet the strict green building requirements to get platinum-level LEED certification through the U.S. Green Building Council, adding to a roster of only about 144 such houses in the nation.

Edwards, who is also the chairman of the USGBC's local branch, built the house to be an eco-friendly option for home buyers and to serve as a learning tool to show other local builders how it can be done. "The intent was to increase awareness ... and break down resistance and misnomers about what green construction is," Edwards said.

The house is the latest sign that the Grand Strand is embracing the green building trend. Local builders have been ramping up eco-friendly options in hopes of attracting buyers who want more energy-efficient homes, and several green projects are under way.

Edwards' company Maritime Green Builders built the home to be air-tight and used features such as solar panels, low-flow fixtures and an advanced water piping system.

"It's a very significant achievement," said Nancy St. Hilaire, operations manager for the Home Energy Group of Mount Pleasant. The company inspects homes to make sure they comply with the LEED - or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design - checklist, and she said this is the first home they've helped certify at the top platinum level. "You've got to really push the envelope to get the platinum." St. Hilaire said there are about 200 green residential projects her company is certifying across the state.

"It's amazing, and especially when you consider that the housing market we're in right now is a bit of a challenging one, we have a tremendous amount of interest," she said. "Builders are looking to differentiate themselves. What can we do that's better to attract people in the home market? We can build a better home. A home that's healthier for the people who live there. They can market that and people are interested in it."

Using green to go green
Green building has become a buzz word in real estate, especially because energy costs have risen and the prospect of shrinking those bills looks more attractive to home buyers.

Building green means using less energy, water and natural resources while creating less waste and giving residents a home with better indoor air quality.

A 2008 American Institute of Architects survey shows that architects are seeing more demand for certain green features such as top-notch insulation.

"Alternative home insulation techniques - such as structural insulation panels or sprayed foam insulation - and extra insulation in the attic overwhelmingly are viewed as increasing in popularity," the report states. "Both features have become more popular over the past year."

Some builders, however, have said that the upfront cost can deter buyers in today's sluggish economy despite the promise of energy savings down the road.

The USGBC estimates that prices for LEED-certified homes are usually no more than 5 percent higher than a comparable house - or $15,000 more on a $300,000 home.

The price will vary based on what features are added. A geothermal heat pump system, for example, can cost tens of thousands of dollars depending on how much drilling needs to be done to install it, while low-flow faucet aerators can be found for less than $10 apiece.

Builders can use state and federal tax credits and green building incentives to help offset the extra costs.

Builders such as Sterling Homes in Murrells Inlet are absorbing the extra cost.

Sterling Homes announced this year that it will only build homes certified by the Environments for Living green building program at no extra cost to the buyer. The company broke ground on an EFL home in Carolina Forest's Waterford Plantation in September and is working on a green renovation pilot program with EFL.

The company's owners see building green as the right thing to do to help preserve the environment, and it's also an incentive they can offer to lure buyers instead of slashing prices, said Clinch Heyward, who owns Sterling Homes with Harry Dill.

"A home that is efficient will be efficient for generations to come," Heyward said. "We hope that [building green] will draw attention to who we are and what we've done."

Racking up the points
The LEED program involves meeting a laundry list of requirements that can be long or short depending on whether the builder wants to get basic, silver, gold or platinum certification.

"It's kind of a buffet. They have a list of measures that you can take. The more measures you take, the higher the points you get," St. Hilaire said.

The minimum number of points required to be LEED certified is 45, but to get the platinum certification, the builder must earn between 90 and 136 points.

To get that rating, Edwards used eco-friendly building techniques and incorporated water- and energy-saving features into the 2,600-square-foot house. He positioned the house to minimize the amount of heat beating in from the sun. There are also four zones in the house where the temperature can be controlled so that if one part of the house isn't being used, it's not being heated or cooled as much. Sustainable bamboo paves the living room floor. And the carpet, paint and trim have low levels of volatile organic compounds for better air quality.

The result is a quiet, efficient house with clean indoor air, Edwards said.

The house had to be inspected multiple times by an independent third party. The inspections ensure the house is as airtight as possible and that there are no leaks in the duct work, St. Hilaire said.

"Basically, when he says that he's going to do something to the house, we make sure that he actually does," she said.

Providing more choices
As interest in living green has grown, so have the number of options on the Grand Strand.

"It's up to the builder which program they do," said Mark Nix, executive director of the Home Builders Association of South Carolina. "It allows you to choose what you can afford."

About 23 builders and other industry professionals who are part of the Horry Georgetown Home Builders Association have become Certified Green Professionals through the National Association of Home Builders' green building program, joining at least 1,000 people across the country who have gotten the designation.

The Withers Preserve development on the former Myrtle Beach Air Force Base has also gained national attention by signing on as the first new home community in the United States to offer General Electric's full line of Ecomagination products aimed at reducing energy costs and water bills.

The Westmoreland Group in Georgetown was recently featured in an article in the S.C. Builder Journal for its efforts to reduce energy consumption by sealing the attic and crawl space and using spray foam insulation among other things.

And St. Hilaire said the Home Energy Group has been working with Ameri Built Homes Inc., in Myrtle Beach on putting green homes in the Southbury neighborhood.

The local home builders association launched a green building council this year to help educate more builders and consumers about going green.

"There are so many different green programs out there," said Cindy Ott, director of programs and education for the local homebuilders association. "I think a lot of time the impression people get is that going green can be very expensive, [but] there are programs that are not as expensive."

By Jessica Foster, the Sun News, Myrtle Beach, SC