Don’t forget the “Big Picture” when shopping for a new home

When my kids announced they were going to start looking for their first home, I went immediately into “Dad Mode” and started to formulate how I could get my home-buying message across without the inevitable rolling of the eyes at the first mention of R-value. Never mind the “big picture” speech about good stewardship of the earth. This “Big Picture” has a lot to do with energy and how we use it. Every home needs energy for maintaining comfort and health, the question is, how much? Well, it depends. But one thing is certain: most of us are using more than we need and paying way too much. So I came up with the top three things for my kids to consider when they started looking for a house. It turns out that these would be my top three even if they weren’t my kids.

Number One: Avoid homes with windows facing west- critical in Central Texas, where my kids are looking, but it’s also important in Pueblo. The single most important factor in how much energy a home uses is the direction the windows face. A home with a “west view” is a comfort problem waiting to happen, and more than likely will need air conditioning just to make it livable. Generally most builders don’t have good options with lot placement, so the chance of getting a home with good southern exposure in Pueblo is less than one in five. If that’s the hand you’re dealt, there are ways to compensate. But starting off with the right position will save enormous amounts of energy - and money - over the life of the home.

Number Two: If it’s a new home and you can still influence the type of windows, go for the high performance windows. The National Fenestration Ratings Council (NFRC) has made this a lot easier by developing a label that tells you all you really need to know about the performance of a window, and most window manufacturers are using it. The two most important numbers are the u-value - which tells you how much heat is lost through the window - and the Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) - which tells you how much heat from the sun will get through. For keeping heat inside, the lower the u-value, the better. The Built Green Checklist suggests a u-value of less than 0.37. For keeping heat outside, the SHGC should be below 0.40. Here’s the catch: if your windows face generally south, you want the sun to warm your home in the winter, so the SHGC should be above 0.50. You could actually “tune” windows to suit your particular situation, but that gets complicated, so the best thing is to concentrate on the lower u-value in Pueblo.

Number Three: Put the bucks into high-efficiency appliances- particularly important with the heating and (if you really have to) air conditioning. With gas appliances like the water heater and furnace, consider nothing but sealed combustion appliances. This type of unit isolates the combustion gases from the living space, which has both energy and indoor air quality implications. First, you aren’t bringing in cold outdoor air for combustion (you’d be surprised how many folks block that pipe into their furnace room because of the cold air!). Second, with sealed combustion, any chance of flue gases reversing and coming back into your home - and that’s easier than you might think -- is eliminated.

These three suggestions are certainly not the only things to consider, but they’ll give you a good energy foundation. And chances are, if your builder has considered them, he or she has thought about a lot of other details that will matter to you.

In Colorado you are more likely to find houses that adhere to these suggestions from builders displaying the Built Green logo. Built Green Colorado™ has been helping builders find energy and resource solutions to new homes since 1995. The largest program of its kind in the country, Built Green Colorado™ is a voluntary program that promotes the sensible techniques of “green building” --- building that makes more efficient use of energy, water and other natural resources. Parade guests will see many of the features recommended on the Built Green Checklist, which lists nearly 200 different green building options.

Here’s a short summary of features Built Green builders can offer their customers:

These features are offered, but if buyers don’t recognize their value, they may not be included. Ask the builder if they are a Built Green builder, and if the home you’re considering is a registered Built Green home. Then ask for a list of the Built Green features.