You probably already know that Green Building saves you money on energy bills, but did you know that there are many health benefits to living in a green home? It seems we have been bombarded by the media with the term “Green Building,” but few of us know what it actually means. We are going to explore the meaning of green building, as well as the benefits to homebuyers of living in green homes in a series of posts on our blog. When you start your search for an energy efficient home in Richmond or Roanoke, we hope you’ll call us!

We thought it would be helpful to define “Green Building” and decided to turn to a recognized authority on the subject. Here is the definition from the EPA’s Energy Star® Website:

“Green building means improving the way homes and homebuilding sites use energy, water, and materials to reduce impacts on human health and the environment. Building a green home means making environmentally-preferable and sustainable decisions throughout the building process – decisions that will minimize the environmental impact of the home while it is being built and over the many years it will be lived in.”
EPA Energy Star states that there are 50 regional and national green home labeling programs around the country. They identify the guiding principles of each program as follows:

• Energy-efficient construction techniques and products
• Improved indoor environments through environmentally-preferable material and building practices
• Water-efficient products and processes
• Renewable energy options, when feasible (more…)