More Green Stuff

GREENER HOMES
Enviormentally friendly homes are finally finding favor with mainstream Americans.

High energy costs for heating and cooling mean that energy-efficient homes make even better financial sense than before...and Americans are increasingly interested in protecting the enviorment even when it doesn't lower their bills.
Among the popular green-home design features...
Bamboo floors. Home owners who select bamboo can have the look and durability of traditional hardwood flooring without contributing to deforestation.
Most hardwood floors come from forests that take decades to regrow once cut down. But bamboo is not a tree at all--it's a type of grass that regrows very quickly.
Triple-glazed windows. Three panes of glass can add $4 to $7 per square foot to the price of a new window but can cut energy consumption by an extra 10% to 11% compared with typical double-paned windows.
Reduced home size in the high-end market. Luxury homes have grown steadily larger in recent decades--until last year, when the biggest high-end homes suddenly lost much of their allure, in part because of the high cost of heating and cooling massive residences. Should this trend persist, 3,500- to 4,500- square foot homes might hold their value better than huge 6,000- square foot mansions.
Smaller is not better at the lower end of the housing market, however--most people living in homes with less than 3,000 square feet still would like to live in largere spaces.
On The Decline...
Two-story entrance foyers. With more houses being built with nine-foot-high or even 10-foot-high first-floor ceilings, the energy-and-space-hogging two-story- entrance foyer is not seen as the necessity it once was in mid-level and upper-end homes.

The author of this article is Kermit Baker, PhD-American Institute of Architects.
Article found in Bottom Line (January 1, 2008 issue), Home Improvements That Pay Off Big Now And When You Sell Your House.