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Everyday Green Home

5 Myths of Green Homes with Madison Hopkins

Everyday Green Home
Everyday Green Home

Today, I’m sharing a podcast that I recorded with Madison Hopkins for her podcast, the Modern Ways Eco-Friendly Homes Podcast.

Madison is quite the go-getter! She is also a real estate agent with Moving With Madison in the Denver area.

In this episode, Madison and I talk about the 5 Myths of Green Homes. It is a guide that I put out, and it is available on my website.

We dive into the five myths of green homes. We talk about green means in the home environment, when it comes to living in an environmentally friendly way and living healthier, safer, and more comfortably, with more durability and less maintenance.

Living in a green home is vital for having a healthier and more comfortable living experience. And the term “green” describes the products and the practices necessary for making our homes both healthier and more comfortable.

Be sure to listen in to hear my conversation with Madison about the 5 Myths of Green Homes.

The people to who the guide is aimed

The 5 Myths of Green Homes guide are aimed at those who work with homeowners and home dwellers, like builders, designers, and real estate agents.

People who live in rented homes

I would like to remind those of you who live in rented or leased homes that there is still a lot you can do, even if you do not own the property in which you live.

People who live in apartments

Those of you who live in apartments can switch to wind energy, and you can also compost. Those are two easy things that you can do to create a greener home.

City-wide sponsored composting

In Denver, there is city-wide sponsored composting available from the Denver gov when there is a single-family home. There are also private companies that supply compost in the Denver area.

Renewable energy

Many utility companies offer an option for you to have either a part of or all of your electric bill filled by renewable energy. That is a way for us to contribute, as individuals, to our utilities having more renewable energy.

The 5 Myths of Green Homes

Myth 1: Green only matters to certain clients, like millennials

Myth 2: No one is asking for green homes

Myth 3: Green is expensive

Myth 4: Solar panels are the hallmark of a green home

Myth 5: Green is just the latest trend

Those are the five common myths about green homes. We will discuss each of those in a little more detail.

Myth 1 - Green only matters to certain clients, like millennials

It’s not just millennials. Everyone needs to be cared for. Many people look to the younger generations for where things are going because that’s mostly where trends start. And then those trends move up the demographics, from the people to older people. So, even though there has been lots of action and vocalizing from millennials around green and sustainable living, we still need to understand what is important to everyone in each demographic. For example, a retired couple, or a mom with a young baby that crawls around need to find the specific features in the homes they are looking for, building, or remodeling.

Things to look out for

For cabinets, look for the green label and avoid formaldehyde.

For floors, go for natural products that are produced in a chemically responsible way or those made from recycled materials. Or possibly even a combination of those. If you have allergies, avoid carpets as far as possible because they are a trap for the dirt and dust in your home.

Myth 2 - No one is asking for green homes

People are asking for energy efficiency, and many people assume that green is energy-efficient.

It is important to ask questions, but many people don’t know what to ask for when it comes to green homes. That is why Madison and her real estate team tell people about what they can do to make their homes greener.

There are grocery stores or isles in grocery stores dedicated to products with a lot fewer chemicals.

Myth 3 - Green is expensive

Doing the practices and using the products in a home that will help it become green certified can cost a little more. The cost is typically only between three and five percent more than that of a code-built house, and some fixtures in green homes use much less energy. So the operating costs will remain the same, year after year.

Myth 4 - Solar panels are the hallmark of a green home

Before fitting the solar panels, every solar installer that I know personally will have the home undergo an energy analysis and tighten it up before they size the solar panels. After that, a large solar panel might not be necessary.

Newer solar panels are more efficient than the older ones, and they also cost significantly less than they did ten years ago.

Myth 5 - Green is just the latest trend

Green has been around for decades. When the National Association of Homebuilders took an official position on green homes, it was all the proof I needed to debunk that myth.

National Green Building Standard

For the last ten years, I have been teaching around a green building standard called the ICC 700 National Green Building Standard (I call it the NGBS for short) endorsed by the National Association of Home Builders. It provides a framework of categories to follow for homes that are getting built or remodeled.

The NGBS teaches people how to keep their homes serving them.

The five categories of the National Green Building Standard are:

  1. Where the home is situated
  2. Efficiencies in resources
  3. Energy and water
  4. Indoor environmental quality
  5. Behavioral - for homeowner education and documentation (How to live in your home and operate it to keep it green)

Green and sustainability

I’d like to caution you that “green” and “sustainability” are catch-all terms that could mean different things to different people. These words encompass safer things that make your home more comfortable and durable and require less maintenance.

Different people want different things out of their homes, and green and sustainable practices are almost always the route to get them.

Referral Links:

My website Green Home Coach

Book: Living Green Effortlessly

Facebook Group: Love Your Everyday Green Home

Download: 5 Myths of Green Homes

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