Green Studio Blog

MLS Listing going green... or greenwashing?

The Houston Area Realtors have their heart in the right place: address in the MLS listing the Green -or high efficiency- features in homes that are better built. Having designed my Green home, and knowing that it is as high performing as designed -after living in it for three years-, it has been painful to sit on the sidelines of the ongoing discussions of realtors about how to place a value on Green homes. Thankfully, I didn't build it to flip it, because it is only now that we are acknowledging the intrinsic value of Green homes, not only to the planet, but to potential buyers.

Unfortunately, the new Energy Feature check list is too simplistic for the purpose of placing a value on the Green features of a home, if they are even Green at all. The real value has to be ascertained within the context of a synergistic analysis of the materials, systems and performance of the home. An example that I've had to study and have real-life trials on are the Tank-less water heaters The tank-less water heaters can be a real energy saver. You can read an in-depth description of their benefits in my blog about going tank-less. The fact is that the Noritz whole house tank-less, of which I own two ( installed in tandem for bigger homes), have a lifespan of 20 years. To pay 3 X more for tank-less, save in energy for 20 years, and have unlimited hot water on demand sounds like a worthwhile long term investment and solution.

 NOT TOO FAST!

Do you know what the lifespan of a tank-less is if it is installed without a whole house filter and a whole house descalinator? 2 or 3 years. I've already had that experience, when 21 years ago I installed one in my first house. This time around, I did the research, installed the filter and descalinator, and three years after installation, the filter basket in the coils of the water heaters are INTACT, free of debris or scale that ruin the coils and render the unit useless. The system is working, and I should be able to use my water heaters beyond their projected lifespan, given the little-to-no wear and tear that has happened in their first three years of usage.

WHAT IS A POTENTIAL HOME BUYER TO DO?

For starters, the largest monthly expenditure of a house is its energy bills, so an Energy Study of the house in question should become as important as the home inspection, given that it is only then that one can get a clear picture of how efficiently the systems and materials in the house are working. According to the National Association of Realtors, 43% of recent home buyers considered the energy bills of a house as very important. That number may never reach 100%, but it will get close. To get an idea of what to expect from a first rate Energy Study of a house, see one that we did of one of the Green remodels that we are doing. This study will go a long way towards understanding how energy features work together to make the home a high efficiency home.

The MLS is also adding a certification checklist, to accommodate the different independent studies and certifications that high-efficiency homes may have. Most of my clients have not wanted to go for a LEED certification due to cost, but are willing to get a Casa Concept/Blue Gill Energy Study to be included in the MLS certification checklist of the home. See a partial Casa Concept Energy Study report.

Realtors, homeowners and home buyers need to get up to speed with the environmental movement that is engulfing us, and how it pertains to homes and their market value. This Green Ball is rolling!

Big Things, Little Things

My High School classmates from the Escuela Americana in San Salvador met for our 30th class reunion at the beach. I’m sad that I couldn’t attend; it just wasn’t in the cards for me this time. My friend Juanito Mejia, the author of the most sublime of thoughts, wrote the class, and wrote me specifically, some heartfelt words. I should add that at no time during my 12 years of school with him did his exceptional writing abilities appear in my radar . What he wrote to me this time is about his memory of me during a senior trip to Panchimalco, a world patrimony town of Colonial architecture, and how he remembers me making something festive out of ordinary things. “Hacias de una cosa ordinaria algo festivo”. Maybe he meant that I have a knack of making big things out of little things. I don’t remember showing that trait that early, but I have to say, Juanito is the owner of a powerful emotional memory- a trait that also went below the radar- therefore I take him at his word. Fastforward 30 years: my definition of a little thing is to be a participant of life. Just check in. Remind myself that” life” – like the Beatles sung- “ is what happens while you’re making other plans”. Remember to be a part of the family, neighborhood, city, nation, hemisphere, world, planet everyday. Contribute in a small way to better building, to helping families live better, to provoking dialogue. Now for bigger things: save the planet. Perhaps Juanito is right. Perhaps I made a big things out of the simple things of everyday nature to salvadoreans, like the fact that to me water was life, and a precious commodity. I was reminded daily by the young children whose family chore it was to awaken before dawn and go fill the clay jarra with water and deliver it by foot, on their heads to their homes for their daily needs. You see, I passed these children every day on my way to school, not one child like me, but many, not one day, but every day. I tried lifting to my head one of these jarras full of water, wanting to believe that they weren’t as heavy as they seemed; I still suffer from overextended shoulders and headaches from that little social experiment… Big thing: we are completely dependant on water, most importantly on clean purified water. Little thing: invest in a good water filter for your home or apartment. Casa Concept can put you in the direction of a good one.