Green House Go

By Sylvain Côté, owner of Absolute Green Homes (formerly Absolute Remodeling Corp.) in South Salem

This past spring, I finally sold my very fine but fuel-thirsty SUV, a 2003 GMC Yukon Delani. Sold it for less than $10,000. Eight months earlier, the same car would have sold for about $18,000, which means the car lost $1,000 in value as each month passed. Loved that car, too.

Why such a quick drop in value? You guessed the obvious: fuel cost. The vast majority of us quickly saw the need to make a drastic change, resulting in a glut on the market of used vehicles equipped with six- or eight-cylinder engines.

Many drivers made the change not simply to reduce their own carbon footprint, but to get a better return on their green, their dollar. And that's perfectly fine. Many of us bought smaller and more efficient vehicles, while the SUV lovers simply settled for hybrids, still resulting in slight fuel savings. Doesn't matter. What does matter is the end result: greater energy savings and a positive effect on the environment. Today, green is a go.

Going in the same direction

Wondering what the SUV swap has to do with building and remodeling? You can be absolutely certain the same thing will happen to our homes that we've seen happening on the road.

I'm not saying that the large 10,000-plus-square-foot homes will no longer be built or that existing ones will no longer sell. (After all, you can still find oversized SUV's on the market.) But as people become more and more aware of the importance of attending to our current environmental crisis, less and less people people will be interested in buying those massive gas guzzlers.

Likewise, homes that waste energy will decrease in demand and in value. Another odd against poor-performing homes is that they also usually suffer from low indoor air quality, an issue that's starting to get a lot of press, and rightly so. Research, conducted by various agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has shown that the quality of indoor air can be many times worse than that of the outdoor air. Given the fact that many people spend as much as 90 percent of their time indoors, the health risk is of real concern.

Triple Your Miles

Did you know that a green home can get you up to three times the "mileage" of a conventionally built home? Imagine, three months of utilities for the price of one. (And imagine what you could do with the savings!) Of course, it's easier to design and build a green home from the ground up than to retrofit an existing one to conform to higher environmental standards. But in either case, with the proper steps and expertise, your utility bills can be slashed by as much as 66 percent.

Get Your Oil Changed-and More
Inevitably, it's only a matter of time before more and more homes go green and a sea change in the real estate industry takes place. Fortunately for all of us, there are several dedicated professionals out there, even here in our area-building scientists, engineers, architects, developers, builders, and remodelers-who are determined to lead the way and make a difference for future generations. This is my fifth year heavily involved in green education, expertise, and tried method Check out some useful links on my site, starting with this one, about slashing your utility bills.

With current economic conditions stealing the spotlight while hiding other-perhaps more vital-issues, each one of us can quietly lead the way in taking steps to stop the bleeding; after all, our very lives depends on it.

Sylvain Côté is owner of Absolute Green Homes in South Salem.

Want to see a sneak peek of Sylvain Côté's own green home? Click here.