5 Ways to Build Affordable Green-Energy Star-Rated Houses

Various Green Building Techniques for Energy Star Rated Homes. As the Green Building Trend continues to rise. This article shares various tips on Designing and Building a Green Home.

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South Carolina builder captures green buyers by spending just $1,000 more per house.

It's hard to ignore the juggernaut that the energy-efficient green construction has become in the home building industry, but it's also difficult not to seem traumatized by the added cost that's often associated with it. "The green thing gets a lot of press ... but there aren't a lot of folks that are fully equipped to build efficiently," observes Jeremy Graves, a builder in South Carolina that is determined to do just that.

His company, FirstCoast Homes, bucks the "green costs more" trend, managing to build Energy Star-rated homes that are 20% to 30% more efficient than standard homes at a cost of just $1,000 more per house than the builder's previous methods.

Based in Charleston, S.C., FirstCoast is a five-year-old company that builds primarily starter homes and first-time move-up product. Prices are on the low end, starting at $129,000 and only reaching as high as $209,000, but this does not prevent the company from building for efficiency. Sensing that affordable energy-efficient construction could be the future of home building, the company in 2007, announced a plan to build only Energy Star-qualified homes.

"One of the most important things we have to deal with today is our energy usage," explains Graves, the company president. "I decided that it was time to put our money where our mouth is and bring this to market." Reducing energy consumption in this country is an important issue, he says, because buildings account for almost 40% of the demand.

To increase the energy efficiency of its homes, FirstCoast now builds every home with effective insulation, high-performance windows, sealed ducts, efficient heating and cooling systems, and energy-efficient appliances. Specifically, that means the company upgraded to Johns Manville insulation at R-13 for walls and R-30 for ceilings, high-performance low-E windows, Comfortmaker high-efficiency 14 SEER heat pumps, and Energy Star-rated Whirlpool appliances, among other moves. It also conducts duct blaster and blower tests on all homes to ensure there are no leaks.

These practices, the builder says, create energy-efficient homes, which help protect the environment by reducing air pollution because lower demand for energy equates to less greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. But even more important than the "why" behind FirstCoast's green efforts is the "how," since the builder has been able to accomplish this at relatively low price points, simply by making small changes to its processes and procedures.

Curious? So were we. Here are FirstCoast's five strategies for building Energy Star rated homes that make going green affordable for buyers and builders alike.

1. Back to Basics

There are many technologies and products available that can help you build a super efficient house, but many of the options are pricey. "All that stuff is prohibitive," Graves says. Instead, FirstCoast uses typical building methods and improves upon them until the home meets Energy Star requirements. One way the company does this is with proper installation and third-party evaluation of many of the systems in the house.

2. The Great Seal

Perhaps one of the most important parts of building an efficient home is the tightness of the building envelope. To do this, FirstCoast uses Home Energy Solutions of Charleston to perform methodical sealing of the shell. "We typically do a combination of foam sealing and caulking throughout the exterior of the building envelope," says Claude St. Hilaire, principal of the company. "We use foam to seal the wire and plumbing penetrations through the OSB sheathing, caulk at the base plate and corners, and low-expansion foam around the doors and the windows." This sealing package, St. Hilaire says, reduces the potential air infiltration to the home by about 30%, which "has a direct correlation to air conditioning sizing."

3. Proper Insulation Installation

Spray foam insulation is all the rage because of its effectiveness at sealing a building, but builders complain that the added cost is significant. Because FirstCoast implemented sealing procedures, the company sticks with fiberglass insulation, but stresses proper installation. "The thing with the insulation is not so much that there is an increase in cost, but you have to make sure that you're holding your sub fully accountable for installing the insulation properly," says Bruce Kiriloff, purchasing and estimating manager at FirstCoast. Kiriloff continues: "There is no price increase. You're just making sure people are doing what they're supposed to do per the scope of work or insulation installation guidelines."

4. Strategic Cost Savings

Even with all the upgrades, FirstCoast realizes savings from strategic moves. The company upgraded its windows to low-E high-performance units, but it reduced the number of windows it uses, which reduces costs. "When we increase costs, we subtract maybe two windows," Graves says. He continues: "We look at where we're going to increase costs, and then we try to be smart about our design. So rather than just build the same old thing a new way, we look at where we could eliminate some of the large [cost] impacts." Sealing the building envelope, proper insulation installation, and upgraded windows allowed the company to reduce the air-handling needs of the air conditioning unit by one ton. This move alone saved between $400 to $800 per house.

5. Look for Back-End Deals

FirstCoast says regional programs may also help defray the added costs of shifting to Energy Star building practices and recommends builders connect with local power companies for rebate programs and other benefits. "Check with your local utilities and municipalities and see where your back-end deals are for being energy-efficient," Kiriloff says. "I think you'll find that the cost [of building Energy Star] is not what you think it is." Graves agrees. "Quite a few of our homes are in [electric] co-ops and by doing some of their prescriptive requirements we've been able to off-set some of that cost," he says.

Nigel Maynard is senior editor, products, at BUILDER magazine.From: BUILDERBy: Nigel F. Maynard

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