Green is In. Trending Eco-friendly Homes

Green is IN.  One of the hottest trends in home design NOW is to have energy efficiency features in mind. Eco-friendly homes can reduce the need for investment in energy infrastructure, reduce energy bills, improve health and increase environmental benefit. Making your home eco-friendly is easier than you think.  With a few minor changes, you can make a huge difference. 

Consider using these types of green products in your home:

1. Compact Flourescent Light Bulbs (CFL)

Changing your lighting to energy efficient bulbs is probably the easiest energy efficient improvement you can do.  CFLs use 70% less energy than regular bulbs and can give you savings of $30 per bulb's lifetime. 

2. Eco-friendly Flooring

Bamboo, cork and eucalyptus flooring are eco-friendly alternatives to hardwood floors. They are also stylish and affordable. 

Many home owners choose bamboo as an eco-friendly alternative hardwood flooring. Bamboo is durable and sustainable. It shares the same characteristics as hardwood but it is made from natural vegetation and grows to maturity in 3-5 years as compared to other trees which can take twenty years to grow. 

Cork can be seen on your favorite wine bottles but it is also great material for floors.  It has anti-microbial properties that reduce allergens in the home, is fire retardant, easy to maintain and acts as natural insect repellant too.  Cork floors, can last between 10-30 years, depending on the quality. 

Eucalyptus tree is renewable and can be harvested in as little as 14 years. It is affordable as well, eucalyptus flooring is about half the price of traditional wood flooring. 

3. Energy Star Windows

You can save energy bills by replacing your windows to an energy efficient ones.  Energy Star windows help keep the heat inside during the winter.  

Installing energy efficient home features will benefit you in the long run.  Consider installing these eco-friendly features in your home: 

1. Home Insulation 

Home insulation is one of the most important energy efficient improvement you can do to your home. This is because insulating materials effectively keep the heat in your room when the weather is cold.  

You can save as much as 40% on your energy bill since your heater does not need to run as hard since your home is getting the right kind of temperature. You will recuperate the costs of installing the insulating materials in the long run if you add up all your monthly savings in energy bills.

Insulation materials are also sound proof.  This is useful if you are living in a populated area where noise pollution is common.  

Your home's market value increases if your home is well insulated. Should you decide to sell, your home will surely get a higher price.  And since the trend is towards eco-friendly homes, your home will definitely sell faster.

2. More Efficient Toilets

The modern toilets are more energy efficient than the first low-flow models. Their bowls and tanks are designed to use less water.  In an average home, flushing toilets accounts for about 30% of water usage. The energy efficient models can reduce that 

use of up to 25%.

3. Induction Cooktops 

Induction cooktops cook faster than the regular cooktops.  It also uses far less energy.

4. Tankless Water Heaters

A solar water heater can reduce costs by up to 80% a year and will prevent more than 50 tons of carbon dioxide emissions over its 20-year life span.

If you are planning to upgrade any of your appliances, choose appliances with Energy Star logo on them. Products like dishwashers, refrigerators, computers and TVs use 10-50% less energy and water than standard models, more than making up for 

the slightly higher cost of these products. 

Green homes often use eco-friendly materials such as energy efficient lighting, flooring and windows. Other features would include energy-conserving insulation, efficient toilets and cookers and high-efficiency water heaters.

More and more home owners are going green.  Opting to live in an eco-friendly home is becoming a conscious effort for home owners. The benefit of going green isn't just about money, it also improves home quality and home owner comfort, demands lower energy and reduces air pollution. 

James Team Real Estate is pro-green.  If you need assistance in turning your home green. We have strong connections with certified professionals that we would be happy to refer. 

Tax Credits for Energy Efficient Home Improvements

The increasing energy prices and the growing concern about the effects of climate change are factors why home owners are opting for a well designed, energy efficient home.  An energy efficient home reduces energy bills and helps clean the environment. Additional plus side of having an energy efficient home is the tax credits applied on energy efficient home improvements.  The tax credits are deducted from your tax bill and if your credit is larger than your tax due, you can get a refund. On the other hand, deductions are deducted from your income, so there's less income to tax.

Renewable energy source tax credits for wind, solar and geothermal improvements are available through 2016.

Replacing windows, doors and skylights will give you a 10% credit up to $200 on windows and $500 for doors and skylights on the cost of materials only. Installation excluded.  

Insulation will give you 10% credit up to $500 on the cost of the materials only. Installation excluded. 

Tax credit for non-solar water heaters is a $300. Qualifying waters can include gas, oil, propane and electric heat pumps.  Using normal water heaters can add up to 25% of the energy used in your home.

Solar energy systems, small wind turbines and geothermal heat pumps get you a tax credit of 30 percent off the cost of the system, including installation, with no ceiling on the amount of the tax credit. (Source: www.realtytimes.com)

It's not difficult to cut on energy costs in your home. By making minor changes in your home, you can make significant savings.  Over time, those savings will add up while being environment friendly.  Not to mention, the government rewards on the energy 

efficent improvements done to your home.

For more information on how to make your home more energy efficient

http://www.akenergyefficiency.org/energy_assessment.

If you want to know more about rebates and tax credits you can benefit from, you can visit http://www.energysavvy.com/rebates/ and http://energy.gov/savings?rebate_eligibility=0&rebate_savings_for=0&rebate_provider=0&rebate_state=7879