The benefits, and challenges, of adding green to a home remodeling project

The benefits, and challenges, of adding green to a home remodeling project

Although many actions to becoming more ‘green’ or sustainable in our homes are simple lifestyle changes (turning off lights, eating less meat, recycling, reducing heating temperature, etc.), some do require modifications to our homes.

In this article, we’ll explore the benefits and the challenges of a green remodel.

Let’s begin with the challenges.

The Challenges of a Green Remodel

Although there are a few challenges, please do not let them dissuade you. All challenges have solutions and by getting through the challenges you will find yourself reaping the rewards in the end.

Challenge #1: Houses are not always designed or built to be ‘green-friendly’.

Many houses, especially the older homes, were built at a time when resources were plentiful and home efficiency and protecting the environment were not even considerations. Hence, the task of adding green features to an older home can become quite challenging. We’ve learned this first hand with our home.

We call our home the ‘anti-green’ home as described in this short video: A Green Remodel.

Our home, built in 1888, contains things like back-plaster in the stud bays, knob & tube wiring, and a tile roof. Hence, when we start to have conversations related to insulation or solar, those conversations are either very short or they snowball into discussions about the other things that need to happen first.

Challenge #2: Homeowners may not be willing to sacrifice home features in lieu of green

For most of us, there are features within our homes that we really love – features that we would not be willing to give up in exchange for being more green. As described in the video above, for us those features include single-pane, double-hung, multi-light windows and hot water, cast iron radiator heat.

In my opinion, it’s ok to protect certain features that you love in your house – even if they are not the most efficient. Focus on making other areas of your home greener – areas that may not be as integral to the character of your home.

Challenge #3: Finding someone to ‘guide’ the homeowner through the process

Part of the challenge today is that there are many professionals (General Contractors, Contractors, Consultants, Architects, etc.) that know certain aspects of home sustainability and green remodeling, but few have an overall view or comprehensive view of a sustainable home – nobody is looking at the 5 resources of home sustainability.

Unfortunately, your path may be similar to ours whereby we did a ton of research and talked to a number of different professionals. From that research, we eventually created a plan that is personalized to our home and our lifestyle within our home.

If you don’t have the time or energy to go through the research phase on your own, we do offer a personalized, comprehensive Home Sustainability Plan for homeowners that will guide you through the process of trying to decide what to do and how to move forward.

Again, please do not get discouraged by the challenges – the benefits are worth working for.

So, what are the benefits?

The Benefits of a Green Remodel

As detailed on our What’s Your Motivation page, the benefits of a green remodel are many. We’ll outline the 4 primary benefits. These are in no particular order and will be prioritized differently by different homeowners.

Benefit #1: Reduced Cost (utility bills)

By its definition, a more sustainable house or a greener house is more efficient and uses less energy or resources. Whether those resources are utilities (heating fuel, electricity, and water/sewer) or more tangible objects such as food or products, by consuming less you generally pay less.

Benefit #2: Increased Home Comfort

Many green additions to a home increase the comfort of the home. Home comfort examples include:

• Warmer in the Winter
• Cooler in the Summer
• Less Drafty
• More or Less Humid Air (depending on time of year)
• Quieter
• Fresh Air

Be sure to consider your priorities here to help plan your green additions accordingly.

Benefit #3: Increased Home Value

Many factors impact home value and the increased home value from green features (location, buyer, how it’s marketed, etc.), but one thing is for certain – when you compare two similar homes, one with green features and one without, the green feature home will bring a higher selling price. I believe that in the upcoming months and years this gap between ‘green’ homes and ‘non-green’ homes will increase.

Benefit #4: Reduced Environmental Impact

As our homes account for 15-30% of greenhouse gas emissions today (depending on the region), adding green features to your home can significantly reduce the amount of emissions and your effect on climate change.

In conclusion, there are certainly challenges with incorporating green features, especially into an older home, but those challenges can be overcome and the benefits of a greener home emerge. Feel free to review other information on our site or contact us directly for your own personalized Home Sustainability Plan.