Buying Green - Or Greenish

November 20, 2008

This year’s energy scare is a taste of what will come. Experts all agree that our use of energy in this country has to change. So if you’re looking to buy a home, how do you choose a home that has a moderate appetite for energy? Although “green” homes are becoming more popular, they come at a price. But there are alternative choices that will provide savings if you are aware when you go looking.

The first thing to look at is the orientation of the home. Passive solar homes are designed to work with the sun. The ideal home is one with most windows facing the south. During the hot summer months, the sun moves over your house but will not directly shine into the south facing windows. During the winter months, the sun is lower and will shine into your south facing windows, providing solar warmth to your home. A home with a lot of west facing windows will have much higher cooling bills as the hot afternoon summer sun will penetrate even double glazed windows.

Next take a look at how the house conserves energy. The existing homeowner may be able to tell you what the energy efficiency rating is on the house. Are the windows double or tripple glazed? Is there insulation in the attic and under the floors (not all areas of the country need insulation under the floors). Do the built-in appliances have an ENERGY STAR rating? Is the home leaking energy? Sealing air leaks is the quickest and cheapest energy improvement you can make. Actual savings vary for each home, but it is possible to reduce energy costs by one-third. Sealing air leaks can save money in other ways, because a tighter home envelop allows for smaller-capacity heating and cooling equipment. The best way to reduce air leaks and implement the right ventilation strategy is to hire an energy analyst to run a blower door test.

Bear in mind that once you buy a home you there are other things you can easily do to increase the energy efficiency of your home. Unplug appliances when not in use, especially chargers. Switch to using energy efficient Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs). Look for ENERGY STAR qualified CFLs by choosing the right lumens (not watts). Use cold water to wash clothes, line dry items, use air dry instead of heated dry on your dishwasher. Invest in thermal shades or drapes.

So with a little forethought, your next home could be a partner in your effort to save both money and the earth’s natural resources!

As of 11/21/09 the John Shea, CBR RePage is ranked at 257 with 1,445 points.
The monthly top RePage owner will receive a cash prize. Help this agent by bookmarking this site and posting it to blogs and other Web pages and encourage others to visit.

Local Information for Plymouth, MA

Latitude: 41.955841 -- Longitude: -70.666549

Other Area Cities: Plymouth Scituate Marshfield Marshfield Hills Green Harbor Halifax Hanover Hanson Kingston Middleboro Duxbury South Duxbury East Bridgewater

Enter our Photo Sweepstakes and Win $200 for your Plymouth photos!

Click on Photos to Enlarge. To see all Plymouth area photos Click Here.

Submit your photos of Plymouth and become eligible to win $200. Click Here for details.

Plymouth was the landing site of the Mayflower, and the location of the original settlement of the Plymouth Colony, established by the English settlers, once known as the Separatists or Brownists and now known as "Pilgrims" [1], in 1620. It was the second permanent settlement in British North America, and the capitol of the Plymouth Colony until the colony's annexation by the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1691. Plymouth was a local center of shipbuilding and fishing for centuries. Its principal notable industry was the Plymouth Cordage Company, a major manufacturer of rope and cordage products, founded in 1825. At one point, the longest ropewalk in the world -- a quarter-mile long -- was found on the Cordage Company's site on the North Plymouth waterfront. The Company thrived into the 1960s, when competition from synthetic-fiber ropes forced it out of business. Even though it had good economics (they did trade with the Native Americans), it wasn't enough to keep the business going. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

Massachusetts 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Plymouth	Massachusetts	United States
Population	7,658	6,349,097	281,421,906
Median age	38.5	36.5	35.3
Median age for Male	35.7	35.4	34
Median age for Female	41	37.7	36.5
Households	3,286	2,443,580	105,480,101
Household population	7,142	6,127,881	273,643,273
Average household size	2.17	2.51	2.59
Families	1,744	1,576,696	71,787,347
Average family size	2.9	3.11	3.14
Housing units	3,420	2,621,989	115,904,641
Occupied units	3,286	2,443,580	105,480,101
Vacant units	134	178,409	10,424,540

Visit US Census