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Minnesota GreenStar Certified Green Homes and Remodeling
3/25/2009
Provides homeowners options for Green when remodeling
Homeowners today have a lot of choices when it comes to remodeling their home. Style, floor plan and finishes are one thing, but people are choosing function with form more than ever today. You can choose to incorporate energy efficient features and materials that save you money every single month. You can choose 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 choose a home that is truly Green. The very best way to go Green is to remodel it as a certified MN GreenStar home.
Visitors can tour a MN GreenStar remodeled home in this spring’s tour. Entry #8 by Morr Construction Services is a beautiful kitchen addition/remodel located at 794 Grandview Avenue West in Roseville. This project employs various techniques and products that promote indoor air quality, energy conservation, and low environmental impact in its construction.
MN GreenStar was developed by the Green Institute (a nationally-recognized 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 Pollution Control Agency, the University of Minnesota, and Excel Energy also lent their expertise to create a program perfectly tailored for the weather extremes and best building practices common to the Upper Midwest. An objective, third-party verification system assures the new home performs as promised. And the builders who construct a MN GreenStar home 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, homeowners will have peace of mind that their newly remodeled home is just the shade of Green that suits their needs and 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 altruistic 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 showerheads, 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 home site 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.
With a MN GreenStar certified remodeling project, homeowners will see energy savings right away, feel great about their contribution to saving the earth, and enjoy a more comfortable home for years to come. Additionally, there’s plenty of evidence that suggests when they are ready to sell a MN GreenStar home, they’ll be able to command a premium price as tomorrow’s home buyer seeks Greener homes. For more i nformation visit MN GreenStar online at www.mngreenstar.com.
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