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Green Remodeling, a Wise Decision with Minnesota GreenStar - Certified Green Homes and Remodeling
There are a lot of reasons to remodel your home today. Older homes often have a lot of charm and unique features, but they also are often short on storage and closet space with rooms walled off from one another. Your household may be changing with a new baby, pre-teens needing a little more privacy and space, you’re ready to cater to your needs now that yours is an empty nest. Or you could just be tired of living in a home that looks like it belongs on a TV sit com from the 80s or maybe even the 60s.
But no matter what the style, floorplan and finishes you choose, there’s also the practical side of remodeling. You can incorporate energy efficient features and materials that save you money every single month. You can have a safer, healthier, more durable home that’s full of the latest technology and a host of incredible new products, materials and features which will make life easier and more comfortable. And you can have a home that is truly Green. And, the very best way to go Green is to remodel it as a certified MN GreenStar home.
MN GreenStar was developed by the Green Institute (a nationally-reconized leader in the green building movement), the Builders Association of the Twin Cities, and the National Association of Remodeling Industry -?Minnesota. Experts from the Minnesota Polution Control Agency, the University of Minnesota, and Excel Energy also lent their expertise to create a program perfectly suited for the weather extremes and best building practices common to the upper midwest. An objective, third-party verification system assures your remodeled home performs as promised. And the remodelers who construct MN GreenStar homes are required to attend mandatory educational programs.
Building and remodeling a MN GreenStar home is a great choice. With several certification levels and a wide range of options within five distinct categories, you’ll have peace of mind that your newly remodeled home is just the shade of Green that suits your needs and your budget.
Energy efficiency
This is probably the first thing that comes to mind when you think Green homes. It’s not surprising, as using energy wisely is both altruisic and frugal, saving the environment while saving on your pocketbook. MN GreenStar’s energy efficiency category takes into account construction techniques as well as products and materials. A certified home is sealed tightly, includes high-efficiency appliances and mechanicals, and is designed to take advantage of solar gain through thoughtful placement of windows and overhangs.
Resource efficiency
A MN GreenStar home combines products that waste less in production, packaging and shipping; designs that use common construction materials efficiently; plus an eye towards recycling — both recycled materials built into the home, and recycling excess materials from the construction process.
Water conservation
Water really is the new oil — around the globe, water shortages are creating massive problems, and even in the southwest U.S. water is becoming a critical issue. In a MN GreenStar home, water is treated with the respect it deserves. MN GreenStar homes help homeowners conserve with great new products like low-flow shower heads, dual flush toilets, and drip irrigation systems for the yard. Careful choices in construction products and materials can also save on this precious commodity.
Indoor environmental quality
Allergy and asthma sufferers will find refuge from a dirty world in their MN GreenStar home. Materials choices are critical in keeping dust to a minimum, modern appliances are designed with high-tech air cleaners and filters that scrub the air, and radon and carbon monoxide technology assures a safe and comfortable home environment.
Site and community
Last, but certainly not least, are the benefits of a Green homesite and neighborhood. The right landscaping combined with home design and placement can reduce heating and cooling costs drastically. Thoughtful planting choices save water and reduce runoff into the municipal sewer systems. And today’s developers are creating entire neighborhoods that embody the philosophy of Green with minimal impact from homes and roadways.
Don’t forget to discuss the benefits of building a MN GreenStar Certified home with your builder. You’ll see energy savings right away, feel great about your contribution to saving the earth, and enjoy a more comfortable home for years to come. Additionally, there’s plenty of evidence that suggests when you are ready to sell your MN GreenStar home, you’ll be able to command a premium price as tomorrow’s home buyer seeks Greener homes.
Visit These Incredible MN GreenStar Remodeled Homes During the Spring?Remodelers ShowcaseSM
#8
Morr Construction Services, Inc.
794 Gandview Avenue West, Roseville
Addition, Kitchen
This home has either received certifiation through MN GreenStar or are in the process of receiving certification.
Top Companies Support MN GreenStar
Getting behind the new MN GreenStar certification program are some of the area’s top manufacturers and suppliers. We’d like to thank these exeptional firms for their sponsorship support.
MN GreenStar Partners:
Pella Windows and Doors
New Morning Windows
MN GreenStar Friends:
Marvin Windows and Doors
Shaw Stewart Lumber Co.
The Builder’s Journal
MN GreenStar Supporters:
Roth Distributing
Boise Cascade Building Materials
Verified Green
Sala Architects
In-Kind Sponsors
Felhaber Larson Fenlon & Vogt
Russell Herder
Natural Built Home
Building Knowledge, Inc.
Blue Sky Guide
Builders and Remodelers Receive Certification
These exceptional builders and remodelers have recently completed a home certified as Green by MN GreenStar.
New Homes
College City Homes, Inc.
Showcase Renovations, Inc.
McDonald Construction, Inc.
Lake Country Builders, Ltd.
Keith Waters and Associates, Inc.
Remodeled Homes
Lake Country Builders, Ltd.
Rinnovare Inc.
Castle Building & Remodeling, Inc.
Mike Otto Construction, Inc.
Live Green Live Smart Institute (this remodeled project was created by seven teams of 248 individuals)
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