Going green a growing trend among homeowners

Tag : Plastic Tiles
By CARYN ROUSSEAU
CHICAGO - The bathroom tiles are recycled wine bottles. Thehardwood floors are sustainable bamboo. And the sprawling gardengets sprinkled with rainwater collected in 300-gallon barrels.
From its recycled plastic deck to its solar-paneled roof,everything in and about the 2,500-square-foot home on exhibit atthe Museum of Science and Industry has a green story _ with thegoal of showing the public how easy it can be to incorporateenvironmental sustainability into their own abodes.

"Green should be for everyone," said Michelle Kaufmann, theOakland, Calif.-based architect who designed the SmartHome. "Ifit's only for a few, what's the point?"

It appears the public is catching on.

Green building is expected to represent 6 percent of theresidential construction industry in 2008, according to a surveyconducted by McGraw-Hill Construction Research & Analytics for theU.S. Green Building Council. In 2005, about 2 percent of newresidential construction was considered "green."
Green housing is growing even while the overall housing market issuffering, said Nate Kredich, the council's vice president forresidential market development.

"It is happening," Kredich said. "It's out of museums now. But theindustry needs to do a better job of getting information intopeople's hands when they're looking for it."

The goal of the Chicago exhibit, which runs through January, is toshow visitors that saving energy and conserving resources arewithin reach of everyone _ whether it's an entire house or a singlefeature, museum officials said.

The modular home, which Kaufmann said uses less than half theenergy and a third of the water of traditional homes, includes akitchen with a countertop composter and a sink made from concreteand fly ash, a byproduct of burning coal. Water from the bathroomsink is diverted to the toilet, where it is used for flushing. Abicycle in the children's bedroom must be pedaled for 30 minutes tocharge a battery to power video games.

Visitors receive a resource guide that tells about function of eachfeature, how they're assembled and where they can be purchased. Thebicycle system, for example, was put together from parts bought onan electronics Web site.
"We tried to look for ideas in every choice that we make in ourhomes ... hoping that everyone who goes through it will be inspiredto make some change on some level," Kaufmann said. "Some peoplewill walk away and want to do an entire new home or some peoplewill think when they go for their towels next and go for organiclinens."

Jasmine Davis, 23, of Park Forest, who visited the home with hermother said the exhibit gave her tips for her own apartment. "Ilike not making a negative impact on the Earth," Davis said.

"It's got so much to be said for it because it uses nature andnatural materials," said Robert Richards, 70, of Santa Monica,Calif., who visited with friends. "It's open. You bring the outsidein and you can even bring the inside out. It's a house built forhumans. It's plausible in real life."

David Johnston, who owns an international green building consultingfirm in Boulder, Colo., said the exhibit is a great way to educatethe public about green possibilities, but he hopes that the home'sultramodern architecture doesn't leave visitors with "theimpression that green building has to be modern, weird, solar,ugly."

"One of the things that's fundamental to green building is that itcan look like anything. It can be a regular Craftsman house or aCape Cod house in New England or an adobe house in Santa Fe. Youdon't have to change what the home looks like to make it green."

Anne Rashford, the museum's SmartHome project manager, said nobodyexpects that people will try to recreate the exhibit home.

"But we hope people will make informed decisions when they'rebuilding, when they're renovating," Rashford said.

While it can be tough for homeowners to figure out where they'regoing to get the most green payback for their money, Kaufmann andJohnston agree overall energy usage and building materials willattract homeowners to a green house.

Johnston suggests rolling energy-saving features into the mortgageby choosing quality insulation and solar panels. Kaufmann sayshomeowners could spend $1,000 on an energy-metering system thatprovides a dashboard for power usage.

"Once I can see in real time how my behavior translates to myusage, I can make changes," she said. "These homes will actuallycost less."
Johnston, who has written a book on green building, said beingenergy efficient beyond existing building codes, conservingresources, recycling and improving indoor air quality truly makehomes green.

"If you're very clever, if you're a do-it-yourself kind of person,you can do one room at a time and achieve your ultimate goal," hesaid.

Kaufmann said homeowners are ready.

"It's no longer a question if people want to go green or not. Theydo," Kaufmann said. "People are wanting an alternative."

On the Net:

Museum of Science and Industry: http://www.msichicago.org/

U.S. Green Building Council: http://www.usgbc.org/

A service of the Associated Press(AP)