Parade of Homes

TourPlanner

Register Here to create a personal TourPlanner that lets you save your favorite new homes, builders, remodelers and more.

Already Registered?

Featured Stories

Local Builders roll out Green Building Program

“Green” can mean different things to different people.

For some, it may mean substantially cutting energy costs as a way to save for their children’s education. Or maybe it means reducing your carbon footprint to do your part in helping reduce the impact that burning fossil fuels has on global warming. It could even mean buying from local, reputable suppliers who manufacture their products in an environmentally safe way. Whatever it means to you personally, concrete ways now exist to ensure that the products and systems you choose for your new home are indeed green.

Local homebuilders have long known the importance of energy efficiency Local homebuilders have long known the importance of energy efficiency and in that regard many of them have been building green for years, but today green is taking on new meaning. Nationally, three green certifying programs exist for homebuilders: Energy Star, a government program that requires certified homes be 15 percent more efficient than homes built to 2004 codes; LEED, a program of the U.S. Green Building Council; and the National Green Building Standard, a program of the National Association of Homebuilders.

But Minnesotans now have their own standards, specific to local climate conditions, building codes and material, energy, and natural resources. Called Minnesota GreenStar, the program is a collaboration of the Builders Association of the Twin Cities, the Green Institute, and the National Association of the Remodeling Industry-Minnesota. Minnesota GreenStar has one certifying arm for builders of new homes and one for remodelers, both have completed pilot programs and will be open to the public in March 2008. To date between the two pilot programs, local builders have built or remodeled about 60 homes from Red Wing to St. Cloud.

“Our entry level certification is a notch above Energy Star,” says Mike Swanson, chair of Minnesota GreenStar for new homes, and vice president of corporate construction risk management for the Minnesota Division of Rottlund Homes, Roseville. Minnesota GreenStar has three levels of certification: bronze, silver, and gold, with gold being the highest standard. “We’re looking at this to add 1.5 to 2 percent to the cost of the home. That’s to get the bronze,” Swanson says. “If it added much more than that, only rich people would be saying, ‘Lets do it!’ With this program, we can move the whole industry up. It’s affordable for everyone.”

Part of the reason the bronze-level certification adds only about two percent to the cost of building a home is that Minnesota already has strict energy codes. But energy efficiency is only one part of green building. Minnesota GreenStar uses a system-based approach and awards points for hundreds of practices and products based on energy efficiency; resource efficiency, use and durability; indoor environmental quality; water conservation; and site management and use. Michael Anschel, owner of Otogawa-Anschel Design and Build, Minneapolis, chairs the remodelers’ portion of the program and works as a consultant to builders of new homes. He stresses that products and practices are not inherently green. For instance, products can have green attributes, he says, but installing them does not make a home green. Installing a granite countertop, for example, could earn green points if the product is quarried and fabricated locally, but if it is quarried and fabricated in India in an inefficient factory, then shipped across the ocean, it would be hard to call it green.

Energy Efficiency

Likewise, geothermal systems are an alternative to high-efficiency furnaces or boilers, but they all need to be part of a carefully designed system. “Geothermal, which draws heat from the earth through an exchange system, is very, very efficient,” says Anschel. “But the efficiency of a geothermal system needs to be linked to the design of the home. If your home is all glass, you won’t have a very energy-efficient system.”

Minnesota is ahead of the rest of the nation when it comes to energy efficiency. “Our energy code is 15 percent better than the national energy code,” Anschel says. “The bulk of our builders build to Energy Star standards.” But things can be done to improve energy efficiency above that level. For example, Minnesota GreenStar awards points for planting coniferous trees on the north side of the home, putting on a green roof, and installing energy-efficient appliances, light bulbs, and light fixtures.

Of course, windows play a huge role in a home’s energy efficiency, particularly in the Minnesota climate. Bob Holdsworth, senior sales manager in the metro area for Iowa-based Pella notes that “windows are a key part of the envelope of the house in terms of energy efficiency and reducing cost.” The U value (a measure of efficiency) of Pella’s Designer Series windows, which have up to three panes of glass, can be as low as 0.3, about the best achievable value.

Resource Efficiency Use and Durability

Efficiency also applies to the use of resources and the careful use of resources goes a long way not only in building sustainably, but also in reducing the amount of trash sent to landfills. Shane Walgamuth, president of Shane Homes, Minneapolis, recently built a green home in the Linden Hills neighborhood of Minneapolis as part of the Minnesota GreenStar pilot program. (See it on our Building Green: An Earth-Friendly Mini Tour, page 14.) While it was his first green-built home, building green was partly second nature. “A lot of what we normally do by code is already green,” says Walgamuth. “For example, because of our climate, our homes are insulated well, and we have very energy-efficient windows.”

But Walgamuth found other aspects of the process new. “I used a metal roof on this house,” he says. “I was pleasantly surprised that it didn’t cost as much as I thought it would, and I love the look.” The cost of this lifetime metal roof was $18,000. That compares to an asphalt shingle roof that typically has a lifetime of 15 to 20 years and costs roughly $10,000 to $12,000. The durability factor alone is very attractive, Walgamuth says, and it reduces the volume of asphalt shingles sent to landfills. “One, it’s green. Two, it’s cool, and not many people have it. And three, it’s a superior product. It’s an all around win-win,” he says. Some strategies that earn points in this category include sourcing materials locally, using recycled materials, and keeping water-sensitive wood trim and composites at least 12 inches from the soil line.

Alicia Richman, director of marketing and sales for New Morning Windows, Lakeville, says even windows can score in this category. For instance, she says her company’s goal in 2008 is to offer a window that uses wood certified as harvested sustainably by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Currently, she notes, there is not a lot of FSC product available, but New Morning Windows recently found a supplier. “As different industries start to demand (FSC wood), suppliers will respond,” she says.

Daryl Doehr, regional sales manager for Warroad-based Marvin Windows, agrees that buying green is more than just looking at energy efficiency and product longevity. “Company practices are more intangible but also important: Where are its vendors? Does it cart materials from across the country? What are the company’s heating and cooling costs?” he says. Recycling measures Marvin employs include heating its plants with leftover wood scraps and selling scrap sawdust to chicken farmers for bedding.

Indoor Environmental Quality

Products and practices that improve indoor environmental quality of the home are those that safeguard health. “Everyone equates green with being energy efficient, but there is a lot more to it,” says John Boyer, with Boyer Building Corporation, Minnetonka. While some homeowners may be reluctant to pay for all green materials, Boyer has found that “homeowners are willing to pay for environmentally safe products.” Some approaches that add points in this category include installing a reverse osmosis water filter, of building a home is that Minnesota already has strict energy codes.

But energy efficiency is only one part of green building. Minnesota GreenStar uses a system-based approach and awards points for hundreds of practices and products based on energy efficiency; resource efficiency, use and durability; indoor environmental quality; water conservation; and site management and use. Michael Anschel, owner of Otogawa-Anschel Design and Build, Minneapolis, chairs the remodelers’ portion of the program and works as a consultant to builders of new homes. He stresses that products and practices are not inherently green. For instance, products can have green attributes, he says, but installing them does not make a home green. Installing a granite countertop, for example, could earn green points if the product is quarried and fabricated locally, but if it is quarried and fabricated in India in an inefficient factory, then shipped across the ocean, it would be hard to call it green.

Water Conservation

Minnesota may be the land of 10,000 lakes, but water is still a concern, and water conservation strategies can be employed both inside and out. “The 10- to 20-year picture is not oil. It’s water, and we are hearing that globally,” says Anschel. The average American consumes 70 gallons of water a day, and half of that is used for irrigation. Limiting the area planted with water-intensive grasses, using native plantings and drought-tolerant grasses, and placing 55-gallon rain barrels at downspouts all earn green points.

Inside the home, washing machines are the most water intensive of the appliances, consuming 25 percent of a family’s water use. Dishwashers and toilets are right behind, so the more efficient these appliances are the better. For instance, installing a dual-flush toilet, with one flush setting for liquid waste and the other for solids, saves 1,500 gallons per year, compared with a 1.6 gallon-per-flush toilet and between 6,000 and 10,500 gallons per year when compared with a two- to five- gallon-per-flush toilet.

Site Management and Use

The final category, site management and use, provides points for a variety of practices such as planting trees, use of slow-release organic fertilizers to establish vegetation, not planting invasive species, donating or replanting any live trees removed from the site, and engaging in practices to limit erosion to mention a few.

With concerns over global warming multiplying and energy costs soaring, the time for green has arrived, and because 20 percent of the nation’s waste is generated by the building industry, builders not only say building green is the right thing to do, but they enjoy doing it. “I’ve always been environmentally conscious, but I’m a builder, so there has been an internal struggle,” says Walgamuth. “This makes me feel better.” Boyer agrees: “It’s the right thing to do. Builders have to push products that are environmentally safe.” But ultimately the choice is up to the homeowner. Will it be bronze? Silver? Or gold?

back to featured stories