Going Green?
Green construction is a growing trend that I believe will soon become the standard in home construction and not just a trend. Lewis Estates incorporates many green building methods and products into our homes to reduce the long term maintenance and on going costs for our clients. I don’t see reduced maintenance or long term energy savings as a trend. Everywhere you look you see green, green and greener and I don’t mean money. People are starting to understand that you don’t have to wear Birkenstocks and live in north Boise to think green. Going green makes sense for everyone no matter your income or lifestyle. I think a big misconception that people have in going green is that they have to drastically change their lifestyle or spend more money on green products. This is simply not true, for example, in new homes Lewis Estates uses an on-demand ignition gas fireplace (no pilot light) which saves homeowner’s approximant $59.00 per year at current gas prices not to mention the added life of the fireplace because of less usage.
If you have an older home built by someone else you will not have this feature but if you where to manually turn off the gas to your fireplace, so the pilot light is off during the summer months, you would save approximately $23.00 from April to September. That’s enough to pay for 6 compact fluorescent bulbs for your home and by replacing all your lights with compact fluorescents the average homeowner would save approximately $250.00 per year. See how starting out small and using one savings to pay for the next can grow intro huge savings. Its like a good diet plan when you start seeing results it becomes easier to eat healthy and a good diet becomes more of a way of life. Seeing results by lower utility bills is as good as putting money in your pocket. Going green to me, means doing a little something everyday to reduce waste or save energy consumption. Start out small and your savings and environmental stewardship will grow from there. The key is to start doing something. What little something do you recommend? Please share your ideas with us.
Steve Lewis