It encompasses a broad array of practices and products that many people simply don’t have the time and patience to pursue. The driving forces, however, for spending time browsing the Internet for information or setting up appointments with your tax consultant and home builder should be that it can benefit your personal finances and health, the economy and security of the United States and the sustainability of planet Earth.

If that sounds a bit extreme, just stick with the personal finances and health part of the reasoning, and the rest will fall into place on its own. Keep in mind that one of the positive aspects of green building is that much of it just involves the use of practical sense, with some of the practices dating back to prehistoric civilizations. Aligning your home to take advantage of winter sunshine and summer shade…that’s a concept from the Flintstones, not the Jetsons. Adobe, a building product with good thermal mass properties, was the building material of choice for prehistoric Southwest cultures and continues to be a popular product today, although modern, sophisticated homeowners have demanded that indoor plumbing and electric lights be included in the mud hut concept.

Individuals can make a difference at very little cost simply by insuring that the design and construction of the home adheres to proven green building program guidelines. Tight construction and ductwork, proper installation of insulation, attention to indoor air quality and proper sizing of heating and cooling equipment are likely the most important issues in green home construction. Frankly, those are practices that should be followed regardless of your green intentions.

Qualifying for significant federal and state energy efficiency tax credits, however, requires planning very early in the design and building process, whether for new construction or a remodel. There are many facets involved in green building, and familiarity with the options or utilizing an expert in the field will contribute greatly to achieving the desired results. Energy efficient appliances and lighting are important. Utilizing products made with recycled or recyclable material and low or no volatile organic compounds contributes to a positive rating. Tankless water heaters are becoming the rage, and they save money. One ingenious aspect of the rating system encourages buying locally-produced products, like wallboard or tile, to offset the fuel required to ship from other locations.

The source of fresh air for ventilation needs to be identified and tightly controlled since air pulled through attics or across insulation can be unhealthy. High efficiency filters, boxing and sealing the return air spaces, minimizing the use of carpet and even creating a shoe-removal space so that unwanted outdoor materials are not deposited on floors, all contribute to a healthier home.

The cost of green building is readily quantifiable and can be weighed against the return in energy savings. Most windows are already required to be energy efficient, so there is little or no additional cost involved. There are a multitude of building and insulating products available, but even typical framing and bat insulation can meet the requirements if properly installed. Solar water heaters require an investment that is probably recoverable, but photovoltaic systems, though highly refined and a good investment for the planet, require a lengthy payback at this time. Keep in mind that the size of the system (and initial investment) can be reduced when the efficiency of the house is maximized, and items like photovoltaic systems, when incorporated into a total green building package, can lead to a positive return on investment.

At least three site visits by a green program verifier or rater during construction are required for various energy efficiency rating and tax credit programs. Completion of the Energy Star Thermal Bypass Checklist inspection is typically a prerequisite at the framing, insulation and final stages of the project. Discussing options with an expert in the field is highly recommended before even starting your home building or remodeling project. Simple and inexpensive steps can be taken in design and early construction phases that will save money and insure compliance with program tax credit requirements.

“At the end of the day, we are simply talking about good building science,” states Miles Dyson of Inspection Connection. “Energy savings can now be accomplished economically without sacrificing comfort and health.” It’s time to make green building part of the conversation with legislators, tax consultants, bankers, suppliers, builders, family and friends. Whether you regard global warming as a critical issue or simply a passing fad, your pocketbook will appreciate the words, green building.

“With proper planning, a new home in almost any price range can comply with program tax credit requirements,” Miles continues. “One moderate to low income housing project currently under construction in Las Cruces will qualify for federal credit. The addition of tankless water heaters would actually have put the homes over the hump to qualify for New Mexico credits.” For individuals who don’t pay much in taxes, however, recovering the investment through the application of the tax credits will be a slow process. Since innovation is the name of the green game, another legal option is selling the credits for 75-80 cents on the dollar to someone with a large tax burden, thereby achieving a faster return on your investment.

The impact on your new home will begin taking shape when you start re-thinking the basic elements of construction and mechanical systems, and taking a simple, practical approach to their application. There is an endless array of products and concepts in the green building arena, now, and so it is best to take a whole-house approach with your consultant and/or builder to determine what is best (and most affordable) for your particular home.

Even choosing the lot affects several of the objectives of green building. If you build near your workplace, schools or shopping center, you reduce the dependence on automobiles. Avoid building on previously undisturbed land and land considered prime farmland.

Determining the direction your home faces and paying attention to the location of porches, shade trees and shrubs can significantly reduce the energy to heat and cool your home. Passive solar energy and shade are still free commodities, at least as of the publication print date, and absolutely make a difference. Disturbing as small of an area as possible with the footprint of the house reduces landscape costs and can help protect local ecosystems.

Understand that a typical cement slab and wood framing go up faster and cost less than other forms of construction. The use of alternative methods, however, to create a tight, well-insulated envelope can make a bigger impact on future energy bills than any other single factor. Amazingly, an un-insulated concrete slab has an R-factor of only one (1) and can also be a source of moisture infiltration. Greener options include insulating concrete forms, structural insulated panels, rammed earth and, of course, adobe. Insulating concrete forms are probably the easiest to construct, but there is an energy offset for producing concrete. The R-ratings for rammed earth and adobe are not as high as most people would expect, but their unique temperature retention property (thermal mass) is a benefit in high desert areas like Las Cruces where we enjoy wide swings between day and night time temperatures.

There are now energy efficient units for both heating and cooling the home, but the use of a ground source reversible heat pump system and properly-sized ventilation can have an even greater long-term effect on your pocketbook. Once again, taking advantage of Mother Nature’s free attributes makes sense. The ground around your home maintains a constant 55 degrees and by placing piping and water tanks underground, that temperature can be manipulated to offset heating and cooling costs or totally provide the energy required for heating and cooling your home.

Don’t downplay the importance of the ventilation system, which is critical to health and comfort. Having created a tight envelope, controlling the quality of air becomes more important. Heat recovery ventilators (HRVs) and energy recovery ventilators (ERVs) exchange the heat energy from stale air exhausted with air entering the house. ERVs also balance the moisture content of the outgoing and incoming air.

For the appliances and lighting in and around your home, you have choices and it should be a no-brainer to choose energy-efficient appliances and hopefully energy-efficient LED and compact fluorescent lights that are now more readily available. In the desert Southwest, the choice of low-flow plumbing fixtures and smart controls for recirculating hot water systems is becoming more critical and even rain barrels are returning for supplying ponds and xeriscaped yards. For new construction, please consider gray water systems to achieve a beautiful yard without consuming additional water, the most valuable resource in the Southwest.

The use of photovoltaic panels and windmills will become more cost-effective alternatives in the near future, and the more energy efficient homes will be in a position to take full advantage of it. In fact, there are green building points just for including the tie-in for alternative energy. For green remodeling, testing can determine if the installation of a power factor correction device would be cost effective, a device utilizing capacitors to regulate and reduce power usage by motors and older appliances. The devices appear to make a significant difference in power usage for commercial buildings.

So…take advantage of the freebees from Mother Nature, create a tight envelope with healthy air circulation, choose the most efficient heating and cooling systems that your budget can afford and beyond that, it’s all salsa verde on the corn chips.

Example 1, 7004 Calle Arcos, a certified Build Green New Mexico home

The home built by Desert Sage targets a Gold level certification from Build Green New Mexico (BGNM) and is Energy Star certified with a Home Energy Rating System (HERS) score of 56.

The green features include a tight envelope (structure) that utilizes blown insulation for R-23 rated walls and R-40 ceilings, wood-framed windows and exterior doors with low-E2 reflective glazing, ductwork in the conditioned space to reduce heat loss, a 90 percent efficient furnace and 14-Seer refrigerated air units, tankless water heater, water saving fixtures, recycled materials, including reclaimed brick and the house is solar ready.

The home is located in Las Estancias de Picacho Mountain, the first subdivision in Southern New Mexico certified under Build Green New Mexico (BGNM) as an exceptional sustainable development. The subdivision qualifies by having developed green-related goals and objectives and it identified a team with specific roles, including on-site training and supervision of contractors. Among the green attributes, natural resources are conserved in the development, including on-site vegetation, the landscape plan was devised to conserve water, wildlife habitat is maintained, soil and slope disturbance is minimized and storm water is properly managed to minimize erosion. Lots are oriented so that solar potential is optimized for over half the lot. Picacho Mountain also provides perspective buyers with a list of 41 Build Green options to consider. Light pollution in the Picacho Hills area has always been controlled in order to enhance the incredible nighttime views of the city.

Example 2, 4311 Isleta Court, first LEED® certified home in Southern New Mexico

Built by Soledad Canyon Earth Builders, the home achieved a silver rating using the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) rating system. This qualified the homeowner for state and federal tax credits. The home met the standards because of features such as the insulated rammed earth walls, photovoltaic solar panels, open cell spray foam insulation, wood frame windows with Low-E glass, Energy Star appliances, tankless water heater, energy efficient LED compact fluorescent and halogen lights throughout, water saving plumbing fixtures and Xeriscaping.

An intriguing green feature was the use of hand-scraped Brazillian Lyptus wood for the floors and cabinets. Part of the Eucalyptus family, the hardy tropical trees are plantation grown and therefore anything that is harvested is replanted.

Example 3, Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park

In accordance with an executive order from Governor Bill Richardson, the buildings at Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park were designed to use 50 percent less energy than required by the US Department of Energy performance standard. Utilizing shaded areas and outdoor classrooms, the building space to be controlled was minimized. Adobe construction with two inches of inert spray foam insulation under the stucco produce a superior wall-insulation system. The flat roofs incorporate 5 inches of the foam insulation and the pitched roofs are R38 batt insulation.

Light colored walls, use of windows, light tubes and skylights reduce the need for electric lighting. Interior lighting, when needed, is typically simple, screw in, high-efficiency fluorescent spirals. Exterior lighting is low key and utilizes the new super efficient LED units. All exterior lighting is placed on a series of timers for precise use of energy as needed.

All windows are wood frame and thermally broken double pane glass and, in most cases, operable. Coupled with screens and ceiling fans, comfort may be achieved in many seasons of the year without mechanical means.

With a good building envelope established, the facilities are heated and cooled using a ground source reversible heat pump system. This system is 400 percent efficient using the earth’s constant temperature of 55 degrees F to either remove heat or gain heat by circulating liquid through pipes to a series of buried tanks filled with water. Fan units placed at strategic locations within the buildings then distribute warm or cool air as required. All ducting is within the conditioned space (under the foam roof) to minimize energy loss to the exterior. “The heart of the system is a pump – an elegantly simple system,” says State Parks designer Rob Love.“The shop roof oriented to the south has photovoltaic panels rated at 7KVA,” Rob continues. “They feed the free, pure energy of the sun into the facility by way of ‘Net Metering’ by which any electricity produced on site will reduce the power drawn from the grid. Coupled with the other techniques for reduced demand for electrical energy in the first place, we hope on a good day to actually supply excess power back to the grid.”

Political Reference

Las Cruces City Councilor Nathan Small, District 4, sits on the Governor’s steering committee for the Green Jobs Partnership, aimed at securing monies from President Obama’s energy efficiency and green jobs training stimulus package and for bringing green jobs to New Mexico.