May 14, 2008 11:04AM

Make Your Dream House, a Green House

By Alexis Glick

Thought about being environmentally conscious and upgrading your home with green technology? Or better yet, what about buying a green home?

Apparently, the move to go green and save energy is the hot topic among developers. This morning I sat down with Rick Andreen, president of Trilogy by Shea Homes, a green home division within Shea Homes, the nation’s largest private home builder. We talked about the demand for green homes particularly from the likes of the baby boomer generation, the costs and the efficiencies.

Get this statistic from Trilogy: 

“The CO2 that will be saved in Trilogy’s anticipated production of 20,000 homes over the next ten years, at just a 20% reduction, is the equivalent of:

     8,660,000 gallons of gasoline

     77,000 barrels of oil

     6,380 acres of carbon reducing forest

     3,180,000 propane cylinders used in home barbeques”

Currently about 0.3% of homes built in the U.S. are green. According to the National Association of Home Builders, as much as 10% of all housing starts, at a market value of $38 billion, will include environmentally-friendly construction by 2010. That’s up from 2% of starts or $7.4 billion last year.

The president and CEO of KB Homes, Jeffrey Mezger says, “We definitely think green building is a selling point, and we think it is here to stay.” They built 23,000 homes last year. 

Will it cost more? Some say as much as 3-4%. Others say not a dime extra and if you do pay more you’ll make it back in utility bills.

Take a look. See what you think.