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!

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Local Information for Alpine, UT

Latitude: 40.456374 -- Longitude: -111.773693

Other Area Cities: Alpine American Fork Orem Lehi Pleasant Grove

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Alpine is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States. The population was 7,146, at the 2000 census.and by 2004 was estimated at 7,896. Alpine has been one of the many quickly-growing cities of Utah since the 1970s, and especially the 1990s. It is located on the slopes of the Wasatch Range north of Highland and American Fork. The west side of the city also runs above the Wasatch Fault. The city is so named because when it was first settled, the Latter-day Saint Prophet Brigham Young visited and said the town reminded him of the Swiss Alps.The median income for a household in the city was $72,880, and the median income for a family was $74,891. Males had a median income of $57,250 versus $33,571 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,716. About 3.5% of families and 3.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.1% of those under age 18 and 9.1% of those age 65 or over. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

Utah 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Alpine	Utah	United States
Population	7,146	2,233,169	281,421,906
Median age	21	27.1	35.3
Median age for Male	20.8	26.7	34
Median age for Female	21.2	27.7	36.5
Households	1,662	701,281	105,480,101
Household population	7,146	2,192,689	273,643,273
Average household size	4.3	3.13	2.59
Families	1,546	535,294	71,787,347
Average family size	4.51	3.57	3.14
Housing units	1,734	768,594	115,904,641
Occupied units	1,662	701,281	105,480,101
Vacant units	72	67,313	10,424,540

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