Builder Bob-Why buy into the Green Concept?
December 15, 2009
Previously I have written about LEED’s and why that commercial building application is successful. In simplicity it has to do with the final ownership of the building. Owners of buildings are going to make sure they can achieve the greatest return on investment by addressing their ownership life of that building. They may make different choices if they are going to only own the building for 5 years, rather than say 25 years. They are going to make different choices if their company or organization is going to occupy the building for business use.
Answering Governor Kaine Question
While Green Building addresses the impact on the environment, there are usually a couple of issues that have to be addressed first, and it is why I like to use the word sustainable building, rather than Green, as builders think to often that “Green” is an out there concept for tree-huggers, rather than the real issues of building.
A published paper regarding Cost vs. Value assessments addressing Green Building practices for Affordable Housing puts it in understandable terms. The paper is published by New Ecology, Inc. It calls them “conventional goals.” These goals reduce it to the points that I find important in trying to get home builders to buy into the creation of “Sustainable Building.” They are: affordability, performance, and health.
Affordability to me means how much is it going to cost and what kind of value am I going to create. And if I create this value, as a builder, will I be able to show this difference to my home buyer? Remember what I said previously about the difference between LEEDS and Green Home Building–that it is end user driven? Well the end user in this instance is the home buyer. If I am going to put something into a house and it is going to cost me money(it doesn’t necessarily have to), I have to be able to show that home buyer a benefit–usually involving their wallet. That benefit not only has to make sense, but it has to put me in a superior position to sell my product–houses–for a profit–and give me an edge over my competition. If I can’t show that home buyer why he should either pay more for my house, or buy my house, at the same price as my competition, and do it quicker, why am I going to do this? No production builder is. A custom home builder has an obligation to his client to show them these options, but this is a discussion for another day.
Performance: Performance is where I like the word sustainability best. Meaning how can I get the house to perform the best at the best possible cost justification. Performance I like to think involves how the systems operate and for how long. If performance means less maintenance, then I have to sell that to a buyer. If performance means my HVAC system is going to deliver what it is designed to deliver–I have to show that to a buyer. Example: If my Air Conditioning system is designed to deliver 3 tons of cooling and it leaks 30% of that, then I am only delivering 2 Tons of cooling–not a good performance. But if my duct leakage is only 5% then I am delivering 95% of the systems design–good performance. Not only that, but if my ducts are designed correctly and installed correctly then I have given my home owner a system that is going to perform far into the future, cutting down on costly retrofits.
Health: A healthy house is an instantaneous, well received buzz word. But more than any buzz word, it has to be backed up by fact. If I build a Green or sustainable home, I have to be able to show that homeowner why it is healthier. Every one buying a house is concerned with their health or their families health. If my house is healthier I have to be able to show why? If I can’t relate why my house is healthier than my competitions, or why it is healthier period, than a normally built house, why do it? If I am going to spend the time and effort to make it healthier than I have to be able to convey that point to a buyer.
Each of these items will be addressed in the continuation of these thought processes. Builder Bob
Comments
Got something to say?