Special feature: Green building

Economic concerns may trump environmental concerns at the moment, but, fortunately, green building addresses both issues. Underneath an immediate focus on money, many consumers also share a long-term interest in protecting the Earth through recycling, energy efficiency and sustainable building practices.

In Prince George’s and Howard Counties, Williamsburg Homes LLC (www.williamsburgllc.com) builds town homes priced from the mid-$400,000s and single-family homes from the $500,000s to more than $1,000,000. Williamsburg Homes is an Energy Star partner, which means that all their homes meet high standards for energy efficiency.

“We want to put as much value in our homes as possible,” says Tim Morris, vice president of sales and marketing for Williamsburg Homes. “By building Energy Star homes, we are developing homes that are at least 15 percent more efficient than the code that is currently in effect, and we have third-party verification of their efficiency. We know that building energy-efficient homes is good for the environment, but we are also looking for a way to benefit buyers.”

Mr. Morris says that buyers not only save money on utility costs, which is particularly important as those costs rise, but they also will live in a home that has been built with the latest technological and construction improvements.

Williamsburg Homes offers features such as low volatile organic compound (VOC) paints, storm water-retention systems, low-E windows, 90 percent energy-efficient hot water heaters, 90 percent energy-efficient furnaces and 13 SEER-rated heat pumps and air conditioners. The homes are Tyvek-wrapped to provide a weather-resistant barrier that prevents air leaks and allows the HVAC system to run more efficiently.

“Sometimes it is hard to say where one thing begins and others end, because many of the things we do that are good for the environment are also good for the homeowners,” says Mr. Morris. “For instance, we put in engineered floor systems, which are a green building technique, but they also have higher tensile strength than solid wood floors.”

Last summer, Williamsburg Homes offered a smart fortwo car to home purchasers as an incentive to appeal to consumers interested in saving money on gas and reducing their carbon footprint. The smart fortwo car is only 8.8 feet long.

“The promotion certainly generated a lot of traffic in our homes and interest, and it was timely when gas prices were soaring,” says Mr. Morris. “Not all buyers took the car, but we definitely believe it helped increase interest in our homes. Every buyer has a different hot button, but helping the environment and helping people’s pocketbooks are both important in this current economic climate.”

Parkwood Homes (www.parkwoodhomes.com) builds town homes, single-family homes and live/work homes at the Villages of Urbana in Frederick County with prices from the mid $400,000s. Parkwood Homes recently ramped up its green-building initiatives to include solar power as a standard feature.

“We’ve always been interested in green building, which we believe has a philosophical connection to the neotraditional communities where we build,” says Steve Wilcox, a principal of Parkwood Homes.

Parkwood Homes first began building homes in Kentlands in Montgomery County, a prototype for communities designed for residents to be able to walk to recreational amenities, transportation, shops and restaurants. This type of land planning is associated with the green-building movement, since it allows people to limit their use of cars.

“Neotraditional communities help reduce carbon footprints by allowing homeowners to reduce commuting time and, thereby, emissions,” says Mr. Wilcox. “Some time ago, we took the next step and became one of the first Energy Star builders in the area. I’ve always felt that if we can build a better home for the ultimate purchaser, it just makes sense to do it. The costs and benefits of the Energy Star program just make sense. For instance, just adding an inexpensive programmable thermostat will pay for itself within three or four months.”

Mr. Wilcox says his own home, built in 1980, is completely obsolete, especially in terms of the heating and air-conditioning functions, which he says “pump the heat right out of the house.”

Parkwood Homes are built with 2-by-6-inch exterior walls with upgraded blown-in insulation. These wall studs are 2 inches deeper than standard wall studs to allow for more insulation. All homes are 100 percent Energy Star certified with high-efficiency furnaces, lighting, appliances and low-E windows.

“Adding the Solar Photovoltaic (PV) system is simply the next step to building a high performance home,” says Mr. Wilcox. “The economics of doing this is not as immediately compelling as some of the other energy-efficient improvements, but in our estimation, it will be. Federal incentives for solar power were just increased and Maryland incentives are also in the works, so we decided to be the first builder to install the solar panels as a standard feature.”

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