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Written by Jayson Gibson
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The state of Texas gives home buyers several home investment options; throughout 2008, Texas has been thought of as a great place to live and invest in real estate. Families looking for new housing opportunities should check to see if their future home includes energy efficient appliances and other conservation features such as low-flow toilets, CFL or LEED light bulbs and dual-pane low-E windows.
A high demand for “greener” homes has helped sway home builders towards using more energy efficient features and building practices. In addition, home sellers attempting to sell a home on the resale market have found that decreasing their home’s energy consumption helps increase interest in the home, decrease the days on market and gives the home features that help it standout. These features and building practices reduce a homes carbon footprint, help conserve water and save homeowners money on monthly energy bills.
Building new environmentally friendly homes and adding features to resale homes does a lot for our environment, but every homeowner can make a difference. Those who already own a home and find that their home does not include any energy efficient or water conservation features may find that making their home environmentally friendly is easier and cheaper than they may expect. Energy efficiency is a concept that is necessary not just to lower utility bills; it is about using less and preserving more.
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Written by Paul Escobedo
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In recent years we can see more and more people switching to buying green homes. This is either because they are getting concern about the environment or that the standards and techniques for building green houses have improved tremendously over the past years. In addition, sellers can also get a higher price for these green homes as they tend to save more on maintenance costs and utility bills. As such, if you are keen in purchasing a green home in Texas, how do you know that it is worth the price that you are paying for the house? This article will give you some tips on how you can get yourself a good deal. Check to see if the following things are found in the house:
1. A passive solar design
This is useful for natural heating and cooling of the house. Make sure there are not any skylights or greenhouse rooms in the house because that would mean too much heat gain in the building and will be very hot.
2. Attic spaces ventilation
Attic spaces can also accumulate heat, especially in hot climates, thereby causing the house to become very hot. On the other hand, moisture will remain in these attic spaces which are not ventilated, causing the wood to rot and smell.
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Written by Joy Paterson
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Toronto is going green. I’m sure you’ve noticed a large majority of Grocery stores in Toronto are now encouraging shoppers to bring their own recyclable grocery bags. As well, Torontonians took part in the earth hour which demonstrates that we are becoming more aware of our environment. Did you ever think about living your every day life more green? Well now you can as Toronto has jumped on green band wagon with over 2,000 green condos units.
You're probably wondering what exactly makes a condo building green. Well for example TAS DesignBuild, also Green Builder of the Year, is currently building a Green condo called the M5V, located on King at Blue Jays Way. They have included motion sensor light switches in the common areas of the condo, energy efficient appliances, dual flush toilets and a roof top rainwater retrieval system with on-site water recycling just to name a few. Living Green can also mean better indoor air quality as developers use low-emission products when installing hardwood, painting etc. Living green means residents can enjoy energy savings of up to 25% which results in lower utility bills, less strain on our energy supply and by reducing green house emissions. All these elements contribute to increasing resale property values.
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