With North Carolina’s Charlotte making it to Cityrating’s list of Ten Best Places to Live, and Asheville featuring on Sperling’s list of Better Places to Live, it is no surprise that more and more people are deciding to relocate to these places, as well as to Winston Salem, Greensboro, High Point and other places in North Carolina.

Perhaps you are one of the many who are considering relocation to one of these or any other place. Of course you want to get the best buy you can but here’s an opportunity for you to make the best buy not only for you and your family, but also for your community and for the world in general. Yes, we’re talking about buying a Green home at Charlotte, Asheville, Winston Salem, Greensboro, High Point and other places in North Carolina.

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First off you will be looking for a home in just the right location. When thinking about this you will look for a place at Charlotte, Asheville, Winston Salem, Greensboro, High Point and other places in North Carolina that perhaps will take you closer to nature but also take into account how much money you will have to spend on gas and car maintenance to get to various places such as shopping centers, schools and hospitals. Economizing on this will definitely be the first step towards a green home and a green environment.

In the course of your search you will be looking out for a home that’s comfortable, safe convenient and economical. These are things that a Green Home at Charlotte, Asheville, Winston Salem, Greensboro, High Point and other places in North Carolina can most certainly provide you.

One of the most obvious ways you will save is by seeing that your home is energy efficient. In order for this to happen your home needs to have the right design. Consider how far the home takes advantage of sunlight, in which direction the breezes generally blow and how that relates to your house. Are there enough trees around to provide tree shade in summer and warmth in winter (and privacy)? Does your home- to- be at Charlotte, Asheville, Winston Salem, Greensboro, High Point and other places in North Carolina allow for good cross ventilation?

With regard to the construction of the house itself, good insulation, efficient heating and cooling systems, a well designed sealed duct system, efficient water heating system and yes, even the lighting and color finishes all play an important part in energy efficiency.

Also consider whether the home that you are looking at is water efficient. Does it have the best plumbing fixtures possible? How much water will your lawn and garden require? Different types of grasses are best suited to different areas. Fescues (Tall & Fine), Bluegrass, Bermudagrass, and Zoysiagrass best suit areas in Charlotte, Asheville, Winston Salem, Greensboro, High Point and other places in North Carolina.

Make sure that the house at Charlotte, Asheville, Winston Salem, Greensboro, High Point and other places in North Carolina has been built from long lasting material that will not require much maintenance. Besides brick and stone for the exterior, fiber-cement siding is an economical alternative. Inside the house a tiled floor is an excellent option.

Look into the quality of the materials that have been used for the interior finishes. The glue, cabinet materials and paints often emit fumes that can affect air quality, and your health, for a long, long time.

Now that you have a good idea of what to look for in a green home, go ahead, visit Charlotte, Asheville, Winston Salem, Greensboro, High Point and any other place in North Carolina. You will not be disappointed.

Green building itself includes the design, construction, and operation of buildings in an environmentally friendly way. Under LEED, performances in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality are recognized.

LEED gives those involved with buildings the tools required to immediately and measurably influence the performances of their buildings.

Real estate professionals, builders and construction managers, architects, landscapers, interior designers and a whole lot of other professionals involved with building benefit from using LEED.

So successful have LEED programs been that both local and state governments adopt LEED for public-funded and public-owned buildings. Different agencies such as Departments of Defense, Agriculture, Energy, and State patronize LEED projects. LEED is now an international program with its schemes in operation in 41 countries, among them, besides he United States, Canada, India, Mexico and Brazil.
LEED has several Rating Systems which are created through an open, consensus-based process led by LEED committees. Volunteer committees, are composed of an assorted assembly of practitioners and experts who represent the building and construction industry.

The key elements of the USGBC’s (United States Green Building Council) consensus process are comprised of a balanced and transparent committee structure, technical advisory groups to ensure scientific consistency and rigor, opportunities for stakeholder comment and review, member ballot of new rating systems, and a fair and open appeals process.

Green development consists of three basic categories—
(1) Response to the environment
(2) Efficient use of available resources
(3) Sensitivity to the needs of the community and bonding of the cultural links.

Green development projects consider land use, site planning and building design in a sustainable manner paramount in the overall planning process.
The following guidelines help in successfully completing green development projects.
(1)Complete System Thinking: This is a process in which all the systems are interconnected and the solutions that address multiple problems at the same time are sought.
(2)Upfront Design: Green development projects generally require higher investment of money and time as compared to normal projects. But such investments can be recovered quickly by avoiding later stage expenses such as litigation, redesign and stalled construction.
(3)Requirements of the End User: It aims at understanding the needs and wishes of the end user thoroughly and incorporating them. It is a vital part of green design and development and aims at achieving all the financial, social and environmental objectives at the least cost.
(4)Involvement of the People: Since all the projects are for the people, they should be involved actively and make them feel that they are part of the thinking process. People should be allowed to contribute fully and community bonding will increase dramatically.
There are several sources of funding for green development projects and financial aspects should not be a deterrent for them.
Silting development correctly makes a big impact on the overall process and costs. Brownfield development, a complex one can be undertaken to reuse the abandoned areas and also improve the living conditions of the people in their vicinity. Infill development is an effective tool in containing sprawl which is becoming a wasteful expenditure and also contains the expansion of the inner cities. Sprawl development is taking a heavy toll on the existing infrastructure and funding sources, causing more hardship than gains.
Eco industrial parks can contribute significantly in reducing the waste, recycle the resources and reuse them again and again as all the businesses located there are useful to one another.
Deconstruction should be taken to recycle the materials rather than reconstruction as it benefits the environment better and economically well also.
Community issues like school crowding, traffic congestion, pedestrian safety and open spaces should be accorded top most priority as they are often relegated to the background to accommodate economic issues.
Energy efficient design and practices, usage of renewable resources, recycling of used products suitably can bring down the cost enough to complete the green development project within the budgetary estimates and avoid transgressing on the natural resources indiscriminately.
With the above guidelines and practices, we can complete green development projects all round us and live in a harmonious environment in tune with nature.

To watch December 17th’s conversation with Charlie Rose and Brad Pitt tune in here:

Couple of professionals we have worked with in the past and highly recommend in the New Orleans area for Real Estate are Jeff Melancon and for your architectural needs, Rick Smith

They are crawfish experts as well!

We shall now discuss the various stages involved in building Green Communities.

(1)Assessment of the community we live in: A realistic assessment of your community gives its values, availability of natural and manmade resources, the exact economic status of the community, infrastructural facilities present and their capacity, the cohesiveness of social, economic and environmental issues and lastly the comparative standing with other communities.

(2)Directions the community is taking: It gives the direction in which we are heading without intervention. We can gauge the utilizations of available resources, change in demographics, land use patterns and industrial activities. How are the external forces affecting us? Only by meticulous planning can we overcome the obstacles. The next stage begs the question, “Where do we really want to be?”

(3)Our future can be determined by planning and plotting the obstacles to be surmounted to reach the desired objective encompassing everything from economy to environment. Once the goals are set, you can start working towards them unflinchingly. The community as a whole can train its guns towards common goals with the visualization acting as a starting point and base.

(4)After the visualization, forward action plans are to be put in place to translate dreams into reality. Action plans should include the goals, issues, concerns and responsibilities to reach the strategic objective. Priority should be accorded to urgent action and time frames for all other activities. Financial implications and needed resources are to be worked out before hand, so as not to lose focus during implementation.

(5)Tools required for implementation: Since the goal is for all, the entire community should be involved, so that the ultimate aim can be reached. Self introspection helps in improving laid out plans and the involvement of all keeps the spirit high. Small tasks with high success rates should be attempted first so that the smell of success sets the ball rolling faster. The very first step of success helps you in overcoming the tougher challenges that lie ahead.

Environment plans tackle watershed, well and storm water management and water conservation techniques.

Land use plans cover urban planning, traffic environment, greenery and site preservation.

Civic participation plans encourage volunteers for river monitoring, waste recycling and surveys.

Pollution prevention plans act at measurement and mitigation of pollution and recycling of existing resources to the extent possible.

Public facilities plans envisage drinking water, septic systems, wastewater treatment, landfills and material recovery.

Energy conservation plans deal with consumption and conservation of energy, alternative sources of energy.

Health plans monitor lead content, indoor and outdoor air quality, toxic materials and public health.

Natural disaster plans account for disaster management techniques and survival.

Financial grants are available to non profit organizations in their endeavor to help people to build green homes.

With the above stages involved in planning and implementation, you can build a “GREEN COMMUNITY,” paving the way for a healthy, livable and sustainable future.

1.Whole Foods Market
2.Wild Oats Markets
3.Trader Joe’s
4.Toyota
5.Honda
6.Sub-Zero
7.Ikea
8.Body Shop
9.G.E.
10.Aveda

In the U.S.A, more than half of the energy is consumed by buildings and constructions. Buildings emit more than one-third of Carbon dioxide, consume one-fourth of the world’s wood harvest and 17% of the world’s freshwater resources. In North America more than one-third of the landfills are occupied by building debris. This type of environment crushing pollution can be mitigated by a large extent with building techniques that provide better bargains and costs.

Home energy costs rank next to mortgage bills. Energy savings are assured throughout the life of a green building. Power companies give energy credits for green buildings and tax benefits are also available. In a recent survey in the U.S, it has been found out that home market value increases by 20 dollars for every dollar decrease in a power utility bill.

The following are some of the ways to increase efficiency, reduce pollution and help in building a green environment.

(1) All the appliances should be purchased based on their energy efficiency. Older appliances should be replaced with energy efficient ones, as after some time older ones deliver less and consume more energy than they normally do, thereby reducing their efficiency to a large extent.

(2) Power utility companies should manage the peak hour demand well enough to stave off demands for new plants.

(3) Heating and cooling systems must work efficiently to the maximum extent possible as they are the largest consumers of energy in a building. Air ducts in the system should be thoroughly checked for leaks. They leak out more than a third to the attic, affecting air quality and sucking dust into the system. Airflow should be properly circulated and cooled. If not carbon monoxide will be introduced into the system. Attics should be properly ventilated and insulated. Air conditioner evaporators and condensers should be cleaned for better performance and efficiency. Outside units of air conditioners should be placed under a shade. Condensers should not be obstructed by debris and grass for better air flow. Programmable thermostats help in the optimal use of energy. Generally, the thermostat should be set at 78 degrees Fahrenheit in summer and 68 degrees in winter for best performance. Unused vents in central air conditioning systems should not be closed if not in use, as they tend to increase pressure and cause leaks in the ducts.

(4) Harness solar energy to the maximum for natural ventilation, light and airflow. The building should be suitably positioned to receive natural sunlight as far as possible to reduce lighting load, thereby assuring reduction in energy bills. Buildings should be ideally designed for natural air flow to reduce heat. Light colored roof materials absorb less heat and hence less power bills for cooling.

(5) Wastage of water increases strain on the rivers and lakes. This should be cut down by using low flow toilets and shower heads. Rain water should be tapped from roof tops and put to good use. Waste water should be recycled as far as possible and rain water run off should be properly guided to pits to recharge underground resources.

(6) Individual transportation may be skipped if possible and mass transportation systems are to be used as far as possible, as automobile pollution is creating havoc. Liquid fuels pose a far more threat than the solid fuels and pollute the atmosphere more.

(7) Buildings should use waste wood decks, medium density fiberboard, straw bale and insulated concrete panels as alternate materials. Wood floors can be recycled and put to use and so are bamboo floors, a renewable source. Hard surface floors do not hold dust, molds and allergens. Cellulose insulation, thermo ply and lumber composites present an alternative source of building material. Dyes, known carcigens, ozone depleting chemicals should be avoided at any cost and so are solvent finishes which release toxic chemicals.

(8) Bird habitat and trees should be protected. Native landscaping should be adopted keeping in mind the available rainfall in the region. Water pervious material should be used to help rain water percolate into the ground.

(9) Natural resources should be preserved for future generations to thrive.

Green building is thus an innovative way to use the available resources, in harmony with the nature and preserves the resources as well. They help to create a way of life that can be sustained to live happily without encroaching on the environment.