Add to favorites Examiner Bio

Why 'smart' homes are 'green' with envy: green homebuilding set to expand by $38 billion by 2010

Smart was the buzzword that swept through residential real estate in the 1990s, starting with the grand unveiling in the early 1990s of what is considered the granddaddy of all Smart Homes, Bill Gates’ 66,000-square-foot Smart House along the shores of Lake Washington. But many “Smart Homes” have gone the way of the oh-so-smart classmates you knew growing up. They hit a wall, so to speak. There are still so few cost-effective applications for all that upgraded wiring. A decade later, the mainstream market still talks about “Smart Houses” in terms of their potential.

 

Talk to experts with a birds-eye view on the market and you quickly become aware of a budding new trend: Green. “Green” is the new “Smart” in real estate, with a high-end market and awe-inspiring amenities and gadgetry once attributed to “Smart.” “Green” is that hippie classmate you once thought you knew – but didn’t.  It’s taking on surprising new growth and according to industry experts this is only the beginning.

 

Business visionaries like Charles Brewer, who founded Mindspring, are now going “Green.” So are celebrities like George Clooney, Virginia Madsen, Amy Smart and Julia Roberts. Roberts drives a Prius, and is building a solar-powered house. Even boomers like Jane Fonda are getting into the act – she’s been spotted driving a Prius around Atlanta.

 

"Green homebuilding is at a tipping point among the builder population," said Harvey Bernstein, vice president of Industry Analytics and Alliances for McGraw-Hill Construction. The market is expected to expand to $38 billion by 2010.

 

Brewer founded Green Street Properties in 2001 and developed Glenwood Park in Atlanta, where he sold a Southern Living Idea House with amenities like a cistern system connected to satellite service. The system collects rainwater to water the yard and the satellite checks for rain. The system automatically dumps water in advance of a storm. Tiles on the roof of the main building work just like solar panels to power the guesthouse. Lights are programmed to turn on and off automatically, the water heater heats instantly. Permeable concrete around the home allows rainwater to reach the ground.

 

“Green” homes rival “smart” homes in terms of awe-inspiring features and amenities like geothermal heating and windows with photochromatic glazing. “Climate change is the greatest threat that our planet faces today,” says Dennis Creech, the Executive Director of the Southface Energy Institute, which promotes environmental awareness and helped initiate EarthCraft - a green-building program in Atlanta.

 

“It’s all about energy. Buildings use a third of energy, which is at the foundation of green building. If we don’t start addressing energy use in buildings, the quality of life over our entire planet will be affected.”

 

Martin Melaver, the head of Melaver development, is right at the cutting-edge of green – both in terms of residential and commercial real estate. Over 80 percent of his company is LEED accredited – a program established by the United States Green Building Council. “We have some of the first LEED-certified buildings anywhere including the first LEED shopping center in the country, the first LEED McDonald’s in the country. We have about a dozen LEED projects in motion in around six Southeastern cities, with a total market value of $250 million. And I’m in the process of putting together what amounts to the first green portfolio of properties in the United States,” he says.

 

In his personal life, Melaver is going one step beyond what he is doing professionally: “We’re beginning a major rehab of our family’s home in Savannah and trying to do it off the grid. The energy is going to be solar power. There is not enough wind yet, although there is experimentation off the coast. With respect to water, it will depend on how much of a willing partner the city is. We’re considering a Living Machine. The waste system is filtered through a series of plant materials, natural material, and filtering materials that filter the water and loop it back through your system in about a week’s time.”

 

"Some experts predict that within a decade almost all home builders will be engaged in green building practices and many of them will be doing so through formal programs," says Ron Jones, the Editorial Director and Founding Partner of Green Builder Magazine. I can see a time in the not-so-distant future when we won’t even have to use the term “green” because those who are not building green will no longer be in the business."

 

An example of one of the most high-tech all-green communities, nationwide, today is Fern Valley in Tewksbury, N.J. - one of the wealthiest towns in the United States. Anthony Sblendorio had the vision to build a community that would actually enhance the environment. To realize that dream, he worked with scientists, engineers, environmentalists and designers to create it. They created high-end homes that are not only “green,” they are also “smart.” They conserve energy, have enhanced indoor air quality, recycle rainwater for irrigation and flushing toilets, and also connect to the latest information technologies through high-tech wiring. Each home’s garden is a key component of the overall design: the plants feed on water from rain barrels, which collect the water from the roofs. Builders educate homeowners on maintaining the “greenness” of their homes - throughout re-sales and renovations.