Green Real Estate & Auction

Practicality is rarely sexy, and so goes the sight of the energy efficiency industry as the nice guy in a bar full of slick solar and wind powered charmers. Neighbors rarely notice when you save money on energy bills through better insulation and appliance management, but they sure can not wait to ask about your shiny solar panels and elegantly whirring wind turbine. In a culture where keeping up with the Joneses has been a religion, saving money and helping the environment by subtly making your property more efficient just does not have the sex appeal of more ostentatious green technology projects. Still, the recession has brought a new sense of humility to homeowners, green conscious or not, and 2011 will be the year of energy efficiency!

The government is trying to do their part. It looks like the long-awaited Homestar legislation will finally pass in Q1 2011 and encourage homeowners to take a hard look at where they can 'go green' by making their home more energy and water efficient, but it's hard to know if the aggressive rebates entailed will have any more meaningful impact on their own than the largely ignored state incentive programs that flopped getting homeowners to take action in 2009-2010. It looks like no matter how hard the government pushes to encourage less flashy green practices, the ego of more visible renewable energy projects trumps vanilla building envelope improvements with a more attractive spreadheet ROI.

I hear a version of this every day from frustrated energy auditors and efficiency contractors: “I'm all for solar panels and every other kind of renewable energy, but there's no sense pumping good energy into a leaky building.” At the risk of alienating our friends in the solar business, we tend to agree.

However, it's not a matter of being pro-efficiency and anti-renewables. That would be horribly off base. We hope 2012 is the year of renewables … integrated into some newly efficient buildings.

Living off the grid vastly expands your choices of where to live … most of us are tied to utility companies powerlines, phone lines, sewer lines, gas lines, and water lines.

The easiest yoke to remove is the phone line. Well over 30% of the population uses cell phones exclusively … so if you want to live out in the country and are in range of a cell phone companies tower … you can stay in communication with friends and family by phone or over the Internet.

Freedom from the sewer line, can be accompanied with a septic tank. Check with your local municipality to get the rules and regulations of providing your own waste treatment.

Freedom from the water line can be accomplished by drilling your own well.

As far as gas goes … a propane tank takes care of that problem. Many do not realize that propane can power your refrigerator … but it can.

So far so good, living off the grid is capable …

You are now left with producing your own electricity. It is not as difficult as you might imagine. The most common ways to do so are with wind and solar power. The sun and the wind are free and solar panels and wind generators enable you to harness the energy they provide.

The power generated from solar panels and wind generators is direct-current. You will need an inverter to change the direct-current into the alternating current we need to power our appliances. A battery bank, is useful to store the power you are generating when the sun shines and the wind blows.

If you are the type of person who is independent and a lover of personal freedom … Living off the grid is something you should take a good look at.

You can also expect that the federal and state governments will be giving more incentivies to individuals that generate their own power. Our dependence on foreign oil, including the huge bury these places on our military, can not continue … Democrat and Republican alike agree on this fact … So look for more subsidies for people that generate their own electricity.

The time for living off the grid is now.

Without carrying out a full building heat loss analysis, and calculating its related energy consumption profile and the hot water requirements of the buildings occupants. You can not accurately design a ground source heat pump system.

The main problem with many renewable energy installations is that that compared to normal energy systems such as gas / oil or electric, the installed costs are generally much higher, so meaning the economies of scale are more limited. An oversized Heat pump will spend most of its time running under part load conditions, which can result in a shortening of the equipments lifespan and ultimately affect performance.

Under-sizing can result in a system that requires another heating system to be used, instead of the GSHP during periods of cold weather. This is known as an alternative bivalent system and is not very efficient. A top up system would be required to help the system meet its requirements. Whilst it is in fact fairly normal to have what is known as a parallel bivalent system, where two systems work together during periods of peak loads, the heat pump will work at maximum output providing the base load of the heating, while the other system tops up the temperature levels. It is vitally important to know the buildings and its occupant's energy requirements so that the most energy efficient and therefore cost effective system is designed, as generally the use of non renewable supplementary heating should not exceed 5% of the annual energy requirement.

It's not only the sizing of the heat pump that needs to be considered when designing the system. Different ground conditions will have an affect on the performance of the ground coil or borehole system used to collect heat from the ground. It is widely thought that ground source heat pump systems take their heat from geothermal heat however, this only occurs in a few regions of the UK.

The ground collections solar energy and almost all of the ground heating effect comes from the sun, even up to hundreds of meters below ground level. The type of ground ie, sand / gravel, rock, clay have different levels of heat extraction. Even the moisture levels of the ground will have an effect on the performance and therefore the design of the system.

Without a ground condition survey being carried out one could not even say whether or not a coil system is appropriate. If the ground conditions are such that there is let us say, 1m of topsoil over rock then the cost of the installation will vastly increase.

We all know that going green is the cool thing to do nowdays. Find out some easy tips on how everyday citizens, real estate construction sites, and even businesses can help improve our environment by making it a safer place to live.

* Many cities will offer residents incentives to use less energy. Look for and work towards rebates that your current city may be offering such as $ 25 off this month's bill if you use less energy than the previous month. Not only will you be able to take advantage of the rebate, but you'll also be helping your city be more eco-conscious.

* Utilize the recycling program your city has organized. Recycling as a whole costs less to operate than waste collection, landfilling, and incineration and drastically reduces emissions, saves energy and reduces pollution. Did you know that every ton of paper that is recycled saves 17 trees and that the energy we save when we recycle one glass bottle is enough to light a light bulb for four hours

* Compost. Larger cities will usually offer a compost service that comes on the same day as your garbage and recycling. Composting is a great way to cut back on the amount of garbage you produce which in turn reduces the amount of garbage that goes to landfills and cuts back on the production of methane and leachate formulation in the landfills. Cities can then use compost to prevent pollutants in stormwater runoff from reaching surface water resources, prevent erosion and silting on embankments parallel to creeks, lakes, and rivers, and even prevents erosion and turf loss on roadsides, hillsides, playing fields, and golf courses .

* Use sediment control measures around your home and work site. Natural erosion stormwater runoff from your home and worksite can negatively affect water quality, wetlands, wildlife and natural vegetation around your city. If you notice that following a storm excess debris and runoff is leaving your property, it is important that you install proper devices to keep this excess debris from entering the drain and water system. When sediment gets into the water system, it takes longer and becomes more expensive to purify that water for drinking. It also can get washed into the lakes and oceans causing excess flooding in times of high precipitation.

* Help beautify your city by picking up trash where you may be. Whether it's around your property or while on a walk, avoid littering and try to pick up trash is one of the simplest ways to help greenify and beautify your city!

While home building may be a little slow in these economic times, if you are one of the fortress ones who is ready and able to build your dream home, first congratulations. Second, are you looking to build a home that is not only comfortable and functional, but is friendly to the environment?

Even you do not give two licks about the environment, and if that's true that's too bad, building a green home is not only good for the Earth, but it can leave more green in your bank account.

Smaller Can Be Better

Make your floor plan efficient, which is code for smaller. Nobody is saying you should turn your dream home into a studio apartment plan, but just remember that the more rooms you have, the more heating and cooling you will need to do. Plus, the money you save on building that den or fifth bedroom can be used towards some other bells and whistles, some of which we will get into this article.

Go Solar!

The first extra you may want to consider, even if your budget is sufficient enough without cutting out floor space, is solar paneling. Not only can you work the expense into your mortgage, but it will pay for itself in a few short years through cost savings on your monthly bills.

Geothermal Heat Pumps

There are several cost-effective ways to go with heating your home and water, but you may want to consider going with a geothermal heat pump. This relatively new technology uses the thermal energy from the Earth to heat or cool your home and water. It can be used for space heating, cooling, water heating, or a combination of all of these.

While using the Earth's warmth to provide heat, geothermal pumps also draw heat away, referred to as “heat sink,” when you need cooler temperatures.

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, “geothermal heat pumps can reduce energy consumption – and corresponding emissions – up to 44 percent compared to air-source heat pumps and up to 72 percent compared to electric resistance heating with standard air-conditioning equipment.”

While the upfront cost is significantly higher than conventional systems, due to the drilling that is involved, if you are building a new home and the geothermal system is included in an Energy Efficient Mortgage (EEM), “the homeowner could have a positive cash flow from the beginning, “according to the California Energy Commission.

Use Recycled Materials

While many recycled material used for homes are a little on the quirky side, they are not all for the eccentric. You can have concrete countertops made from recycled paper fibers, glass, ceramics, or other materials. Recycled rubber and cork can be used in a composite material for flooring. The possibilities are almost endless!

The number of buildings is increasing in the city and this in turn is increasing the polluters in the surroundings. You might be well aware about the facts that your health conditions are getting worse due to the increase in the pollutants. Also the green nature of the surroundings are greatly getting changed and because of these factors most of the living things are badly affected thebyy not able to maintain the ecosystem.Authorities are taking relevant steps in order to maintain the ecosystem thereby performing relevant checks while moving ahead with the aspect of commercialization and modernization.

A set of rules by the name of protocol is drawn by an organization by the name of NABERS and every building irrespective of residential or commercial in the society has to undergo the NABERS testing in order to access the performance of the building in saving many resources that are getting depleted with the passage of time in the environment.It is not possible to move ahead without these resources in order to lead a comfortable life and water and electricity is one of the major ones in the list.

You will have to fix up an appointment with the NABERS assessor in order to know about the level of maintenance of the building to save the resources. It is always better to do all the required repair works before the assessments and this act can definitely help you to gain better grades.The certificate obtained after the assessment from the NABERS is very important and this required while trying to rent or lease your building.

This test can be carried out either by the tenant or by the house owner and also you can divide the portions of the same building into two if two families are residing in the same building and the assessment can be transported out separately in order to get two separate certificates.You need not have to consider this as waste of money as this process will be made compulsory within short time interval with the passage of time.Also the assessor will be able to give out certain suggestions that can be carried out to bring the entire house expenses in the form of variety of utility bills economic with the passage of time.

It seems that Cardiff may have to start building on its previous greenfield sites in order to keep up with housing demand in the city. It seems that the green field to the west of the city in nearby Fairwater and also in Lisvane, which is to the north of the city, may now be vulnerable to development. This may be due to the council being pushed to withdraw its blueprint for development in Cardiff. Land for sale may become available in areas which were once protected.

A leading city planning consultant, Mr Robin Shepherd of Barton Willmore, belives that Cardiff will have serious economic and social consequences if the land in question is not released. A meeting at Cardiff's City Hall looked at over-ruling the Local Devlopment Plan. One of the Inspectors present, Mr Anthony Thickett, believes that the council can not meet the growing needs of the city for land and housing without allocating Greenfield land for development. There is not enough brownfield land for sale for development in and around Cardiff. Mr Thickett believes that brownfield sites will not deliver on the amount of affordable housing needed.

Mr Shepherd posts that the council needs to develop a new plan, as there is no plan in place at the moment. This has led to a shortfall of land for sale and of housing. He notes that Councilor's should have accepted officer's advice on releasing a mix of brownfield and Greenfield land, if this advice had been accepted then Cardiff would not have this problem. Local people with homes in Pontprennau, Lisvane and fairwater seriously oppose any developments. However Mr Shepherd argues that other land is released then communities and families could be separated.

Container homes are becoming a popular alternative for home builders wanting something different. They are cheap, easy to build and have many eco-friendly benefits. For many excited architects and builders shipping containers are providing a new form of architecture, where containers can be used as building blocks and structural elements for houses, offices and even cities.

Container houses are built with shipping containers. They are very affordable and strong enough to become the framework for a house. Building a sea container home is quite easy. Builders place one or several containers onto a regular foundation, cut windows and doors in the container walls, isolate the modified container properly to resist heat and cold, decorate it and voila – a container home turned modern home. The modular structure of shipping containers means that they can be easily attached to each other. This allows architects to create interesting and unique designs.

The cost of a 40-feet cargo container is about US $ 1200. As you can imagine, building a house made from shipping containers is very affordable. In general, the cost to build container house is half that of the cost of building a conventional house. Container homes are low cost, very strong, have a fast construction time, easy to modify, and shipping containers are readily available.

However, there is some skepticism with the benefits of these alternative homes. For example, it is argued that the high heat conductivity of steel requires better insulation for such homes in comparison to the usual brick or wood houses. Also, there is concern of the health risks that originate from the original flooring of shipping containers, which are usually treated with harmful chemicals. The original flooring of shipping containers is always removed before construction begins.

Sea containers can also be used for emergency housing or shelters. The recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan has left 90,000 to 100,00 people homeless. Sea containers could be used to house the homeless people and provide them very much needed privacy and relief. They could also be used to create temporary schools and offices. The build time will be very short which is what the country needs right now.

Although container housing a new concept, the popularity and public interest in them is growing rapidly in many countries. The obvious economic benefits, with the green eco-friendly practices of recycling and sustainability, create a lot of opportunity for modern architects and builders to develop and improve the container home concept.

The current real estate market can be tough and property managers are experiencing more vacancies, declining rent prices, and difficulty finding qualified applicants. It is increasingly important to market yourself with a competitive advantage and going green may just do the trick.

Green Your Properties … Green Your Marketing

1) Highlight the Savings
If other rental homes are marketing their property for the same price in rent, then you can emphasize the savings a resident will accrue due to lower utility charges because you've invested in environmentally friendly appliances, light bulbs, and fixtures.

2) Made in the USA
The Home Performance Resource Center states that most sealants, caulking, windows, and HVAC systems being used today in home energy retrofits are manufactured in the United States. You can go green by purchasing materials made in the US because it lowers the transportation fuel and energy spent importing goods internationally.

3) Breathe in the Fresh Air
Most rental units need to be repainted from time to time and investing in no or low-VOC paints and sealants is a great opportunity for you to market yourself as green. Advertise the fact that you care about creating an environmentally friendly and clean air habitat for your residents and their families. Parents and pet owners may be particularly attracted to a listing that boasts of having a lower toxicity.

4) Non-Toxic Matters
Advertise the fact that you do not use toxic chemicals as pest control either inside the residence or outside in the yard. Elderly people, responsible mothers, and environmentally conscious individuals alike will gravitate to a safer environment for their home.

5) Children Are Receive to Green Messages
Kids today are inundated with frightening messages of global warming and will be interested in learning what environmentally friendly measures their parents have made by reducing their cost resources in an energy efficient home. This advantage in the rental market is priceless.

6) Showcase Your Transit
If your rental properties are located near public transportation, market this attribute! Provide residents with a bus schedule or a biking map or show how close certain amenities are so that they can cut their gasoline costs and go green.

With your marketing campaign highlighting some of your property's green advantages, you will be filling vacancies faster and retaining qualified residents for longer. Once you green your properties, start working on greening your management office, and advertise the improvements each step of the way.

Green Your Office … Save Money
Property managers cut costs and go green by running a paperless office and leveraging property management software . They can use email to send owners statements and collect rent online.

1) Invest in Web-Based Property Management Software
Efficient business operations and good accounting are critical to running a profitable business. By using web-based property management software you can securely store all your files in one place and access them remotely for a 24-7 management approach.

2) Accept Online Payments
Eliminate the rent check and have payments deposited directly into your banking account. Go green by managing your accounts online and eliminate costly trips to the bank.

3) Run a Paperless Office
Using less paper at your property management office will help save you money and the environment. Paper, ink, and file storage are expensive but remember you also have to pay an employee to do the work, and that adds up! Try and eliminate the paper trail by using property management software to run reports and use email to issue monthly statements.

Marketing is very important and a few dollars spent in green property management can go a long way to make it easier for properties to stand out from the crowd.

Architects are the gateway through which most green technologies find their way into the marketplace. The architect 'specs' particular technologies made by the manufacturers they are most familiar with into the plans for a project, then the person or organization contracting them fronts the cost, and it extremely ends up as a working element of the property. This is all well and good assuming the architect knows every available green technology on the market, but that's obviously impossible, so that you end up paying for and using for your renewable energy or efficiency project is inherently limited by the amount of the architect's knowledge and research. Ultimately, this means you could end up with yesterday's technology if the architect gets lazy and you do not hold them accountable for keeping your project on the cutting edge of an industry that's evolving rapidly towards more cost-effective, efficient and environmentally friendly alternatives.

When taking on something as ambitious as a complete HVAC or lighting retrofit, a solar panel (or pv) installation, small wind project, water consumption reduction effort or just about any other green technology project, you pay the architect handsomely to guide you towards your best options. Come to think of it, you pay even more for the materials themselves. Do not you think you bought to have some insight into the materials that are planned for your property and the companies that get to use your money as a way to showcase their wares?

GreenTechBuyer does, and we think you should be proactive about it by doing some research on your own while holding the hired architect accountable for the amount of theirs. Here's how:

1. Do not discredit yourself as incapable of understanding your options. After all, you did manage to get yourself into a position to be in charge of this project in the first place.

2. Go ahead and open up an internet browser to do some poking around for the types of green technology products you know you'll use. It's really not that complicated at a high level. Need help finding the right terms? We know a website where you can get matched the best green technology companies …

3. Note a healthy mix of two or three industry leaders and a couple of newcomers who seem to have products or services that fit the particular types of applications you're looking for.

4. Ask the architect what products they are planning to utilize for your project and why. Then follow up by asking about how many projects they've used this product for and over how long of a timespan.

5. If they've been using it for years on the majority of their projects, that's a red flag that they've stopped looking for new and improved alternatives. Now is the time to introduce some of the companies and solutions you've discovered on your own.

6. Brace for defensiveness and a few guffaws about how you could not possibly understand the market of the implications of product selection. Remember, you're the client. They work for you. Press on, and request that they humor you by looking into the solutions you've presented and re-enforce that you welcome other alternatives as well. It's perfectly reasonable to request options.

7. Be reasonable. Architects really are experts, and if they shy away from the boring edge it's because they do not want your project to fail due to the bluster of being a too-early adopter. The point is to push them to do their research, not to force anything down their throat and onto your roof.

8. Go forward with the green technology product knowing you've done your part in the product research due diligence. Maybe your involvement in the selection process led to an improvement. Maybe it just added work to the architect's busy schedule. At least you know proper effort was applied.

Architects are educated, skillful and thoughtful professionals, but they're as late as cutting corners as the rest of us when not held accountable for evolving their technology practices. Make your expectations and goals clear upfront, stay informed about the progress of your project, and push for answers if you ever feel like you're getting less than the best effort and option. Taking an active role in the development of your project may not be the architect's dream, but it's your dreams that are important.

Morningside neighbors and friends enjoy one of Atlanta's only exclusive organic markets every Saturday morning, year-round. Drawing on roots that date back to the early 1980's in an herb garden, the Morningside Farmers Market draws a crowd every weekend to enjoy the local abundance of fruits, vegetables, chef demonstrations, artisan creations, and special events.

All produce sold at the market is certified organically grown. The local farmers-the participating farm that is the farthest from Morningside is just two hours away-have been the staple of this market since its inception over 15 years ago. Visitors to the Market can expect to find organically grown peppers, onions, carrots, beets, potatoes, squash, okra, melons, leeks, turnips, apples, eggplant, greens, and many more fruits and vegetables. But do not forget the eggs, bread, granola, cookies, and nut mixes that are all organically grown and prepared. There is even a farm that prepares and sells organic made soaps made from pure vegetable oil and hormone-free goat milk!

Even a gourmet chef could have lost among the sheer abundance and amazing meal capabilities that the Morningside Farmers Market holds. Fear not, every Saturday the Market welcomes a local professional chef to delight and enlighten attendees with recipes, tips, and tricks of the trade to take home to your kitchen. Chefs from noted restaurants like Rosebud and Alon's have participated in the demos, but you will also find catering masters like Marc Summers of Parsley's Custom Catering in the line-up and even the growers get in the mix with their own personal recommendations!

A green home gives you peace of mind that you are doing something good for the environment. Many of the traditional methods of building have a large negative impact on our environment. One of the short-term and immediate benefits that can be seen in green building is the amount you save on utility bill and advantage of being able to save environment. This is not only achieved by the construction of building but also can be achieved by replacing old or energy-consuming equipments with new energy star appliances.

The green building is not a new concept or technique but you are using methods that enable you to save energy and prevent loss or waste. Today energy-efficient appliances are easily available and they are cheaper comparable to utility bill or energy saved by them.

You can convert your existing home or building by replacing old or out dated products such as replacing faucets into new fittings that saves water. While buying or shopping home appliance, check for energy star or energy label. This will reveal the amount of energy that the device will consume in a year.

This provides a healthy environment for your family and saves our environment. Green building or green gives the aesthetic beauty in their appearance. A green home can increase the energy efficiency as well as reduce conception of water.

You can also take pride in knowing that you and your family support green living by adopting green lifestyles. A traditional home or old building can be easily transformed into a green home by replacing old fixtures which consumes more water and energy. Increasing the efficiency of the power and water you use means that you will use less energy, water and save your money and also saves environment.

Today green home is buzz word and many builders or Construction Company adops green home or energy conservation methods to lure more customers. There are many reasons to move into a green home and ultimate aim is to achieve green lifestyle by saving energy and water consumption. A simple green home saves 5 to 10 percent utility bill. Replace your old, inefficient appliances with Energy Star qualified appliances and save energy and money. Attract birds with birdhouses, feeders, and natural backyard wildlife habitats to help reduce pests and your home look green home in real sense.

The factors to be considered by Construction / Real Estate firms to turn green are:

Energy Saving Electricity: – Solar Power

Moving away from first generation power usage techniques ie depending on electricity generated by power plants which run on water / coal, present day Realty sectors could probably adopt the technique of absorbing the power of Sun, otherwise named as Solar Power to generate electricity.

Solar power makes us to think of energy efficient techniques in constructing a home or gated community's viz. quipping solar Facades in exteriors to absorb the energy of SUN, painting interiors with brighter colors to radiate more light with less power etc. The other useful power saving technique could make Realty firms in turning green is automatic power off system which helps in turning off unused electricity automatically.

Inserting solar panels, solar equipped glass facades, solar powered water heaters & illuminating systems and using energy efficient paints at interiors could really help Realty firms in turning attention to Green Earth Revolution by reducing usage of power and coal generated electricity.

Water Storage: – Rainwater harvesting tank

Water shortage, the popularized problem problem these days is the major concern for Realty builders. Against drilling down 1000 to infinite feet down the ground for water and settling with non-resolved trials, some Real estate firms have dusted the old old technique of storing water through tanks to tap the requirement of daily necessity – WATER. With the increase in demand for water and less adequate resources to fulfill it, apartment builders adopted the Rainwater Harvesting System which can potentially resolve the water problem restricted to certain qualitative measures.

Rainwater Harvest tank is a specially paved area on the roof / in the courtyard of a building to store rainwater or sometimes even a gutter in the garden would help to be a water harvesting tank. Highlighting these kind of water storage techniques, builders could give uninterrupted water facility to dwellers though it depends on water sources ie rainfall in that particular area. With the minimal concerns for clean and safety water, builders can effectively use this technique to address water related problems especially without depending on ground water levels.

Plastic Usage: – High toxic levels

Matching up with the global upro against plastic usage and to be in the path against global warming, 'plastic-free environments' are rapidly dotting up the cities like never before. Plastic the excessive use of which may contaminate under ground water due to its very slow decomposition levels compared to other materials can harm the marine population and is strictly hazardous for drinking water. Disposal of plastics either into water or on ground should be avoided cause of the high toxicity it has in using and by manufacturing them.

Here, in the course to turn towards greener earth, real estate firms have the need to build their gated communities or any other form of group housing insistently on absolutely 'Plastic – Free' environments. Indeed, attaining plastic free environment certificate will also be beneficial in escalating flat or plot sales, is also a major factor for real estate firms to turn green.

Plantation: – Air Purification

'How about staying amid greenery? Wake up and say good morning to 75000 Tulips'; these were the catch-up lines pitched by some of the Realty firms in recent times at Hyderabad. Having heard of the same intentional messages for numerous times, it's been proved that Real Estate has lent its hand / land to sufficient plantation required for healthy life.

More plants in the vicinities makes the area protected from pollution so leads to air purification which of a great concern in giving a quality living style. Against deforestation and concrete landscapes, turning to green panoramic landscapes would fetch Realty industries to cope up with the increase in need of life style away from regular hustle – bustle with more fresh and quality breath.

Waste Management Techniques: – Landfills

Probably, the foremost hectic task confronts by contemporary construction world is managing the waste. Maintaining Garbage dumping yard Popularly known as landfills, has been a difficult task for present day apartment builders as the vicinities are dotted up with concrete blocks not allowing space.

In this scenario, allotting a special slot outside / inside the row housing for garbage dump is definitely a valuable idea. It creates opportunity to be hygienic and indeed can help in producing bio fuel. Adding to it, with the help of Plasma we can even turn garbage into Gas which is another advantage of using dumping yard or landfills. Instead of spewing up the garbage into neighborhoods and leaving the environment more unhygienic, dumping yards are of more useful methods for Realty firms in tapping the turn of green revolution.

In this way, Realty Firms can effectively turn green by following above stringent factors.

On an ending note, though the methods like solar systems and dumping yard maintenance claims more practicality, with the little care Real Estate firms can turn to greener phase easily.

There has been a surge of demand for green homes of late. More and more people are becoming concerned about the environment. Many homebuyers nowdays consider eco-friendliness as a major determinant in choosing their new homes. Aside from minimizing the residents' impact on the environment, a green home can also prove to be more cost efficient when it comes to maintenance.

Outwardly, an environmentally friendly home may not look very different from traditional houses. The differences show in the materials used for the new home's construction. Homebuyers looking for a greener place to live will know they're on the right track when they find accreditations from eco-friendly organizations such as the Environment for Living® program and Energy Star®.

Green homes that meet the Diamond Level requirements of the Environments for Living® program are guaranteed to have the least impact on the environment. Such homes utilize sustainable design technology and get their construction materials from environment friendly sources.

The Energy Star® seal is widely recognizable to today's consumers. More known for being tied with household appliances, the blue and silver seal is given to all eco-friendly consumer products, even new homes.

Homebuyers looking for eco-friendly residences are also met with a bombardment of acronyms on their new house plan. Terms such as SEER, MERV, and IAQ, on their plans, all connote that the house has been constructed with energy efficiency and eco-friendliness in mind.

There are many who believe that green homes are the way of the future. A long history of exploitation has led to dwindling natural resources and harsher environmental conditions. By joining the movement for greener lifestyles, Man would come one step closer to redeeming himself from past environmental mistakes.

The environment is moving in accordance with the pollution that is hitting the nature on a continuous basis. You should definitely take some initiatives according to your capability in order to maintain a very good atmosphere that is less affected by pollutants. You might be aware about the facts that are really harming your health condition with the toxic particles that are freely floating in the air. One of the simplest steps that can be taken by every individual is to effectively take care of the situations that are considered as the main source of pollution. You should always make sure that the resources like electricity and water are not wasted to be misused and must use all the resources in such a way that it must go in accordance to the ecosystem.

There are many organizations working after obtaining approval from the government in order to make sure that every building in the country irrespective of whether residential building or commercial building is functioning by making effective use of the resources. These organizations are under various inspections on these buildings to make sure that the resources are well maintained and the assessments goes in pace with the rules and regulations drawn by the NABERS assessors. You will be delivered an assessment report that clearly mentions all the steps that must be adopted in order to make the most efficient usage of all the resources and also your building will be graduated based on the economic usage of the resources.

You can definitely reduce your water and electricity bills to greater level by making use of these services.This report is very useful for the building owners in order to grab a high position while placing their property for sale or for lease. Any body can run this assessment regardless of whether the building owner or the tenants. If the building is shared by two families you can even run the assessment separately in order to generate two reports for both the portions. It would be really good if you make all the required repair works before the assessment date so that you will not be marked down in many aspects of your building. Most of the NABERS assessments are carried out on fixed rate so that you need not have to worry about the rising of any surprise charge after finishing the tasks.