Consumer Information

Benefits of Owning a Built Green Home

The range of options listed here are among the items that Built Green builders choose in order to provide home buyer benefits. They may not all be included/available in all Built Green homes. Be sure to check with your builder.

A Built Green home saves money and conserves resources in the following ways:

• Properly-sized and highly-efficient furnaces, air-conditioners, and water heaters reduce your monthly utility bills.
• Energy Star® appliances use less electricity and water than average units and make a smaller dent in your family’s utility budget.
• Efficient lighting systems including compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) and fixtures, offer excellent light quality and save money. Not only do CFLs last years longer than standard bulbs but they also require only a fraction of the electricity.
• Properly insulated walls and roofs protect the indoor environment against outdoor temperatures while making sure heated or cooled air is not lost.
• Low-emissivity (Low-e) windows resist the transfer of cold and heat through the glass, saving you money and improving the comfort of your home.
• Low-flow faucets, shower heads perform as well as conventional fixtures but conserve water and save you money.
• High efficiency toilets - those that have passed rigorous performance and water conserving standards - perform better than conventional toilets and save you money.
• Advanced irrigation systems take the guess-work out of watering the lawn, optimize water use and save you time and money.
• Recessed "can" lights constitute one of the primary air infiltration points in the home and can result in 'round the clock air leaks. Air-tight can lights solve the problem of air leakage, and save you money.
• Xeriscaped (water wise) landscaping combine water conservation and drought-resistant plants with natural beauty.

A Built Green home is durable and requires less maintenance in the following ways:

• A properly drained and insulated foundation avoids moisture intrusion, maintaining a dry and comfortable basement.
• Outdoor decking and landscaping products made from recycled products look great, last longer and require much less maintenance than traditional decking material.
• Engineered lumber is made from fast-growing, rapidly renewable trees and provides straighter, stronger, more consistent structural elements.
• Tough, long-lasting exterior finishes such as brick, stucco, and fiber cement ensure that a home endures for generations and requires less upkeep over the years.
• Long-lasting and durable roof shingles or materials like slate, cement, or metal reduce waste.
• Simple items such as downspout extensions on gutters keep water away from foundations and basement walls.

A Built Green home provides healthy and comfortable indoor environments in the following ways:

• Ducts transport air from the furnace or air conditioner throughout every room in the house. Too often, leaky ducts create negative pressures that draw gasses from the furnace and water heater into living space. Tightly sealed ducts prevent this potentially dangerous situation and make sure the correct amount of warm or cool air is reaching every room.
• Sealed-combustion furnaces and power-vented water heaters protect families from combustion gasses that might be introduced into living space.
• Many building materials, such as carpet, cabinets, shelving, paints and finishes, are available with low- or no VOC content (volatile organic compounds). Careful material selection helps make your home as free from indoor air pollution as possible.
• Air filtrations systems, such as high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters, offer added assurance for families with heightened concern for indoor air quality.
• Special sealing practices to isolate the garage from the house ensure that vehicle exhaust won’t enter the house.
• Central vacuum systems are convenient and quickly move floor pollutants to a location safely outside the house.
• Mechanically controlled fresh air ventilation systems introduce a regular supply of fresh air to the home. Quiet, efficient bath and kitchen fans remove moisture and pollutants.