Environmentally sound improvements can increase your property’s value.

By Francesca Di Meglio

While real estate prices fall across the country, homeowners are (or should be) looking for ways to increase the value of their property. One of the best ways to do that is with green home improvements. Luckily, going green is incremental and doesn’t have to mean building a 200-foot windmill in your backyard. “Don’t get intimidated,” says Jessica Jensen, co-founder of www.lowimpactliving.com in Los Angeles. “You don’t have to go crazy or broke, and it’s exciting to make changes. You might get addicted.”

A lot of these changes will help you save money on day-to-day costs, and all of them have big benefits if you choose to sell your house. “Once energy-conservation measures have been taken, they will reduce utility bills, which can be an incentive for home buyers,” Kelly Hart, co-owner of greenhomebuilding.com and dreamgreenhomes.com.

GREEN DESIGN ELEMENTS

Kitchen and bath renovations are always a good investment, especially when they’re eco-friendly. There was a time when green offerings were unattractive and expensive. Today, however, countertops made of recycled glass, cork flooring and cabinets made with nontoxic varnishes and paints are stylish and affordable. Because more companies are producing green countertops, flooring options and cabinets, the prices are comparable to traditional products, says Taja di Leonardi, founder and managing partner of EcoHome Improvement in Berkeley, Calif.

Di Leonardi sells cabinets that have PureBond interior casing. The new casings are free of formaldehyde—also a known carcinogen—and the cabinets are made of wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), which means there was no clear-cutting while obtaining the materials. A wide range of form-aldehyde-free paints and finishes are available for the finishing touch. These are not just better for the environment—they are healthier for you, too.  Another way to improve a home’s look is to refinish the floors. In addition to using dustless sanders, many flooring companies are now offering nontoxic and water-based finishes for floors, which are just as durable as polyurethane. If you’re planning to replace the floors complete-ly—an investment that will probably cost at least $4,000-$4,500— you may as well go green, di Leonardi says, because you can find attractive, high-quality green options in the same price range as other luxury items.

One such option, bamboo, is not a tree, but rather a grass.

Environmentally, it’s difficult to argue with a wood-substitute that regenerates quickly, matures in three years or less and requires minimal fertilization. Bamboo is attractive as a building material because it is very hard, strong and dimensionally stable.

In fact, the larger species of bamboo have been used in construction for thousands of years. Even today in Asian cities, it’s not uncommon to see large buildings being constructed with the aid of bamboo scaffolding. A word of caution for those who are planning to jump on the bamboo flooring train: While it’s true that bamboo replenishes itself, flooring options are not always green, says di Leonardi. You should ask the salesperson where you’re purchasing the floor if it is FSC-certified and if the adhesive that will be used to install the floor is formaldehyde-free or low in formaldehyde.

It’s easy being green when building a deck. Again, you can look for wood products certified by the FSC, or you can cut out the wood altogether and go for plastic lumber, which comes from recyclable sources like milk jugs and won’t rot, absorb water or splinter. While the plastic lumber can take most types of fasteners and is workable with standard saws and carbide blades, it isn’t a suitable replacement for load-bearing structural components; the physical characteristics of plastic polymers, while durable, don’t provide the rigidity necessary for primary structural support. Look for companies that have addressed this weakness by reinforcing their products with fiberglass or steel.

To top it all off, why not add an earth-friendly roof? Many companies are now offering green-roof systems that reduce storm-water flows and help green the environment through plantings. They are mostly used on flat or low-slope roofs, but some companies are starting to offer them for deeper slopes. Long used in Europe, green multilayered roofing systems can retain about 50 percent of the rainwater from a typical storm, which reduces the load placed on storm sewers, making it a particularly attractive system in urban areas. The multilayered systems require a waterproof membrane and will most likely need additional structural support, but they can be planted with native grasses and wildflowers, which can be a wonderful architectural element to attract buyers. Not to mention you’ll be helping to insulate the house.

If all this sounds like a lot of work, you might be thinking, ‘“why not just start from scratch?”

Designing an entire green home from the ground up may not be as difficult as you think. Hart specializes in building homes with materials like sandbags, clay and straw. These kinds of materials not only reduce the need for wood, they also provide insulation. Building a home into the side of a hill, he adds, can give you a cool underground pantry for more efficient food storage.  
Adding solar panels to one of these homes is the icing on the cake.

BE ENERGY EFFICIENT

Solar panels have become one of the best-known eco-friendly possibilities. But the cost turns off many people. Starting around $16,000, solar panels hardly sound economical. But di Leonardi says consumers should consider them an investment. Grants, rebates and incentives from the state or federal government can also help bring this option within reach. If you just go for the panels to heat your hot water, the cost is about half, and incentives and grants will still apply in most locales.

If you’re more wind than fire, you might consider a residential wind turbine. According to the American Wind Energy Association, this equipment, which is installed on a tall tower and converts kinetic energy from the wind to electricity, can help you cut home electricity bills 50 to 90 percent.

Beware: Turbines are only effective in some areas and can be difficult to install. You will still have to be served by the utility company. But the more wind you get, the less you’ll have to pay the utility company, and electricity providers work well with people who have turbines to keep energy at a constant, regardless of how windy it is. This option generally works better in rural locations. For example, Iowa has 1,273 installed megawatts of windpower, and Minnesota has 1,299, according to the American Wind Energy Association.

Regardless of whether you decide to make a large or small investment, green improvements to your home make sense. “If you make it a goal to conserve energy, then your green habits will carry over into renovation projects, home and life. And that’s priceless,” says di Leonardi.

small WONDERS

Even the little improvements can make for a greener home

Experts agree that conserving water is one of the most important—not to mention cheapest— ways people can make a difference. Low-flow faucets, showerheads and toilets can help you to save water and cut down on your bills. Another option is buying a water filter that instantly makes water hot or cold, which means you never have to run the water until it’s the right temperature.