2009.08.16 – Green Tour of Homes, It’s getting easier to be green
By Beth Beasley
Times-News Correspondent
Published: Sunday, August 16, 2009 at 4:30 a.m.
There’s enticing news on the green home and business fronts. It truly is getting easier to go green. And thanks to stimulus funds offered by the federal government to help revive the recession-plagued economy, there’s never been a better time to take the green plunge. “It is getting cheaper to go green as the sales volume of solar panels is on the rise,” says David Weintraub, executive director of Hendersonville-based ECO, the Environmental and Conservation Organization.
What’s more, manufacturers’ rebates are making the up-front costs of building green homes and renovating buildings to become more energy efficient more affordable. “Stimulus funds are available for this year, but they may not be here forever,” Weintraub says. And lifestyle changes can make a big difference, too, he notes. Instead of driving everywhere, walk when possible. Or, another lifestyle choice — moving to a smaller house — can be as valuable a green investment as spending money on new energy-saving green systems.
To promote the green advances being made in Henderson County and nearby areas, ECO is presenting its Second Annual Green Home Tour on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The self-guided driving tour is a great opportunity to explore some of the best green buildings in the area next weekend.
“I find that owners of green homes are passionate about what they’ve done,” Weintraub says. “They want to share and give others an opportunity to learn.” The tour, which includes four private homes, a green-built housing community and two commercial properties, covers parts of Hendersonville, Edneyville and West Asheville. Carpooling on the tour is encouraged, of course.
“People can see homes just in Hendersonville or go beyond and see all manner of green homes,” Weintraub says.
Some of the properties on the tour are “brown” buildings turned green thanks to simple steps homeowners took to better conserve water and be more energy efficient. Tour goers can check out green homes equipped with solar installations, radiant floor heating and water conservation measures such as an inflatable cistern and native plant gardens. A few homeowners will share their lists of green materials and may even present slide shows highlighting the work they’ve done.
“Many people live in our beautiful mountains because of the stunning views around us,” Weintraub says.
“Green homes allow residents to continue to enjoy our natural wonderland with a minimal impact on the surrounding environment.”
A GREEN WEEKEND
Tour goers can immerse themselves in green education all weekend if they choose.
ECO’s Green Home Tour takes place in conjunction with the Southern Energy & Environmental (SEE) Expo, at the WNC Agricultural Center from Friday through Sunday, Aug. 23. The SEE Expo, now in its ninth year, is one of eight corporate and private sponsors of ECO’s tour, which attracted about 150 people last year. Weintraub predicts this year’s tour will attract even more people.
WHAT TO EXPECT
“These are beautiful homes,” Weintraub says. “Not only do they have environmental value, they also have aesthetic value.”
Tour goers will get to peek into the process of building a green home as they visit Habitat for Humanity’s community of homes, now in mid-construction, for low-income families in Edneyville. The homes are being built to meet North Carolina’s HealthyBuilt standards, the state-level certification for environmentally friendly design. The standards emphasize reduced energy and water use, the use of renewable energy sources and protection of the land surrounding the home.
“In this case, they’ll see the whole process,” Weintraub says. “It’s an inside view of how green homes are constructed.”
A home on the tour in the High Vista community in Mills River has a unique flexible tank in a sealed crawl space that will inflate to hold over 2,500 gallons of collected rainwater. The house also boasts a grey water system that recycles waste water from the home to flush the toilets — an improvement that has reduced the homeowners’ water use significantly.
At Kanuga Conferences in Hendersonville, tour goers will learn about the 131 solar panels installed last winter to heat water for 11 buildings. The panels were installed after a feasibility study determined which Kanuga structures were the best candidates for the solar hot water systems, based on water use at each of the buildings.
The panels installed at the non-profit retreat center by FLS Energy Inc. of Black Mountain now provide hot water for the kitchen, laundry, 62 guest rooms at the Kanuga Lake Inn and 10 other buildings on the 1,400-acre campus.
“Environmental stewardship is in Kanuga’s DNA,” says Stan Hubbard, president of Kanuga Conferences, Inc. “This project is a logical extension of Kanuga’s core values because it will significantly reduce our reliance on propane, a nonrenewable fossil fuel.”
Notably, the project is the largest of its kind in the state and one of the largest in the Southeast, says Harmony Johnson, communications director at Kanuga Conferences. On a smaller scale, Diane Rhoades’ new 642-square-foot cottage near downtown Hendersonville shows environmental friendliness in a variety of ways.
Slate windowsills, block interior and exterior stucco walls, radiant floor heat, bamboo flooring in the bedroom, and an abundance of natural lighting are some of its green features. “The materials are timeless in their quality and lack of maintenance,” says Rhoades. Rhoades appreciates that ECO also took lifestyle choices into consideration when it chose which homes to put on the tour. Her cottage is within walking distance of downtown Hendersonville, Consequently, Rhoades is not as dependent on her car. She also eats regularly from her organic vegetable garden and the fruit trees and berry bushes that grow in her yard.
In addition, Rhoades’ mindful raising of chickens and bees make this simple, artful home not only more sustainable, but comfortable and welcoming as well.
Her cottage features a homemade rainwater catch system for watering the garden and a roof deck that adds insulating value. A series of cords designed to foil chicken hawks double as a clothesline.
“Homeowners like Diane are seeing utility bills as low as $50,” Weintraub says. “With a deeper connection to the land, she makes an impact without shelling out a lot of money.” Nearby, an historic downtown Hendersonville home that’s on the tour has been brought up to 21st century standards with solar collectors to fuel hot water and radiant floor heat and a rain barrel for watering its lowmaintenance garden, among other features.
“Even if you do small things to make a difference, this is a good time to do it,” Weintraub says.
State and federal incentives that include stimulus funds are encouraging more and more homeowners in the area to go green. Homeowners can receive money back on investments made to increase energy efficiency or to tap renewable resources such as solar energy either in the form of a tax credit or a grant check, Weintraub says.
For new construction, the cost comparison between green and brown homes is not substantial, Weintraub says. However, if you look at the long-term savings through energy efficiency, going green readily becomes the best choice.
“All these people are going to get their money back in 10 to 15 years,” he says.
IN THE TREES
Nestled in a forest 20 minutes outside Hendersonville, is the 2,000 square foot labor of love that Brent and Pam Schlueter built.
The couple reused the poplar trees they removed for driveway construction and the house’s footprint as lumber for interior paneling and the front portico. They made sure trees remained intact to provide shade in the hot summer months and a privacy screen in winter. Large, insulated windows allow the sun’s rays to warm the home.
“It heats itself. Our energy bills are really low,” says Pam Schlueter. “It’s a really comfortable house.”
The Schlueters will provide business cards of the contractors they worked with on their project.
Pam Schlueter, a Spanish teacher at North Henderson High School, took a class at UNC-Asheville in passive solar design before she and her husband drew up plans for the house.
“Building is really satisfying work,” says Pam Schlueter. “I can sew, but this is so much better.”
