|
- |
BY CATHY JETT
As energy rates rise, Fredericksburg-area home buyers are starting to focus on factors other than mortgages.
They're looking at the total picture and want houses that are as energy- and water-efficient as possible--and earth-friendly to boot.
Now a handful of local builders are beginning to meet that demand with certified Energy Star and EarthCraft houses. Air-tight, energy tight-fisted and built with a eye toward keeping as much material out of the waste stream as possible, they help keep electricity bills low and indoor air quality high.
Both programs, as well as the United States Green Building Council's LEED for Homes, have been popular in states such as Arizona, California, Texas and Montana for some time, but Virginia has been slow to take advantage of such certifications.
One likely reason, said Dan Dukes of GreenSource Builders in Stafford County, is that the Northern Virginia area is highly transient.
"According to the National Association of Home Builders' statistics, people are only in a house for an average of four years, so why worry about it? Why build all these things into a home that will add to construction costs when they're not around long enough to see a return on their investment?" he said.
Now, however, there's what he described as a "perfect storm" of reasons for home buyers to go green. Not only are gas and grocery prices going up, but so are utilities.
Columbia Gas of Virginia just announced a rate increase of more than 18 percent, for example, and Dominion Virginia Power has asked for one starting July 1 that would increase a typical residential customer's bill by 18.3 percent if approved.
There's also a growing awareness of environmental responsibility sparked by such things as Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth," said Duke, one of the few Energy Star House and EarthCraft House certifiers in the state.
Duke also is among eight local businesses on buildgreenvirginia.org, a new Web site to help people find builders who've gone green.
More will probably pop up following a Fredericksburg Area Builders Association training session featuring Sam Rashkin, national director of the Energy Star program, June 17 at the Hospitality House and Conference Center.
Jeff Hall of J. Hall Homes in Fredericksburg said he started building Energy Star-certified houses about three years ago because "it seemed like the right thing to do and it's a better quality house. It saves the customer energy."
He's currently finishing what will be his first certified EarthCraft House in Stafford County. This program incorporates Energy Star House criteria and covers all aspects of site planning, construction and utility systems.
To achieve EarthCraft certification, homes must pass tests for energy efficiency, air infiltration and duct leakage established by EnergyStar and the Home Energy Rating System.
"Building green costs more money, but in the long run it will be a positive cash flow for the customer," said Hall. "People say, 'Oh, I can't afford that,' but then they realize they'd be crazy not to."
Andrew Grigsby, founder of the Culpeper-based planning firm Commonwealth Sustainability Works, discovered that when he taught a non-credit class on green home building last fall at Germanna Community College. He had expected builders to sign up; instead, all six students were homeowners.
"It might be more in-depth than most homeowners would need," he said of the class, "but when you consider that the value of the investment in your house, it pays to understand how that thing works."
The $59 class will be offered again from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. June 18 and 25 at the Fredericksburg campus and 9 a.m. to noon July 12 and 19 at the Culpeper campus.
Cathy Jett: 540/374-5407
Email: cjett@freelancestar.com
