USGBC Georgia Residential Speaker Series

Last night we had the first USGBC Georgia Residential Speaker Series event.  The event was held at a LEED Platinum Modular home in Marietta.  In addition to having the LEED Platinum certification, it is also certified by EarthCraft House, ENERGY STAR & the NAHB Green Program.  The home was built by New World Home and they were gracious enough to let us have our first event there.  Harry’s Farmers Market catered the event and provided a beautiful spread.  Mark Jupiter came in from New York to lead us on a tour of the house and explain the process of building a modular home, the products that go into it, and what makes it green. 

This particular home was built in a factory near Hilton Head, SC.  Once it is built, it’s put onto several tractor trailers and driven to it’s current location in Marietta.  The house is then put back together and that day the home is about 85% complete.  From that point it takes about 8 weeks to put the finishing touches on the home and then you are ready to move in.  They have a great video running in the kitchen that shows the house being built.  You can visit their blog and see the videos at www.NewWorldHome.wordpress.com. 

Our next Speaker Series event , Sustainable Landscaping Tips & Trends will be on October 28 at the Atlanta Botanical Garden.  You can register and view more details at http://www.usgbcga.org/index.php?option=com_events&type=event&task=details&id=127.

Thanks again to Carol and her team for putting it together and everyone at New World Home and Harry’s Farmers Market.

 

 

Carson Matthews
www.CarsonandCarol.com

The Green Building Council of the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association

The Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association announces the launch of the Green Building Council.  The official launch will be at the Fall General Membership Meeting September 24th.  Complete details of the event and launch can be found at http://www.atlantahomebuilders.com/uploads/100018_pdfs/102528.pdf  Here is a little information about the Green Building Council and its goals:

The Green Building Council brings participants in the planning, building, remodeling, marketing and selling of high-performance green homes and related products and services. The council aims to provide and promote green certification programs and educational opportunities for its members and the public. The council provides a forum for professionals in the construction industry to promote green home standards and best practices, to network with others in the industry and to take a proactive role as leaders in the green housing industry.

Don’t miss the Fall Membership Meeting, details below.  

The Nuts and Bolts of Green Building featuring Peter Pfeiffer 

Thursday September 24, 2009
4 p.m. Registration 5:45 p.m. Program Begins
Villa Christina, 4000 Summit Blvd, Atlanta, GA 30318
$30 Greater Atlanta HBA member, $40 non-member
Additional $15 walk-in fee for attendees who do not pre-register.

click here to register  

If you are on LinkedIN, please join the Green Building Council, a subgroup of the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association. 

If you are interested in joining as a charter member of the Green Building Council, visit http://www.atlantahomebuilders.com/uploads/100128_Shelly/102530.pdf

September Sustainable Atlanta Roundtable Mayoral Forum

Each month Southface Energy Institute holds the Sustainable Atlanta Roundtable which is held at All Saints Episcopal Church on West Peachtree Street.  September’s roundtable discussion is going to be particularly interesting as 5 of Atlanta’s mayoral candidates will share their views on the environment and sustainability.  In attendance will be Lisa Borders, Mary Norwood, Kasim Reed, Jesse Spikes & Glenn Thomas.  The candidates will take the podium September 4th at 7:30am so don’t be late.  Visit www.southface.org to reserve seats at a discounted rate by noon on Thursday September 3rd.  Continental breakfast will be provided by Whole Foods Market, coffee provided by Cafe Campesino.  Learn more about this and upcoming Sustainable Atlanta Roundtable discussions at http://southface.org/web/programs&events/SART/sart-menu.htm.

Hope to see you there.

Carson Matthews

USGBC Georgia Chapter Residential Green Event

Last night marked the innagural networking event of the Residential Green Committee of the USGBC’s Georgia Chapter.  We met up at Ri Ra Irish Pub in Midtown and probably had about 50 people in attendance.  This was my first chance to meet Leesa Carter, the new Executive Director of the USGBC Georgia Chapter.  I was excited to learn from her about the LEED Green Associate course that is available.  You can find out more online HERE.  Be sure and check out the website and look out for upcoming events at www.USBGCGA.org.

We also have a Speaker Series starting in September so please save the date and plan to attend. 

The Myth about Modular presented by Mark Jupiter of New World Home www.NewWorldHome.com. 
When: Wednesday, September 23 6-8pm
Location: LEED Platinum Model Home at 1452 Murdock Road, Marietta, GA 30062

Mark Jupiter will give a tour of the home and explain the construction process of a Modular Home and show us the benefits of living in a home like this.  I have been on the tour twice and you do not want to miss it.  He does an excellent job of explaining the process and the features of the home.  Refreshments will be provided by Whole Foods Market www.WholeFoodsMarket.com. 

About the Residential Green Committee
The Residential Green Committee is committed to promoting residential green building throughout the state of Georgia and the greater southeast region. We are a passionate group of professionals involved in all facets of home building and renovation, including architects, designers, builders, remodelers, realtors, lenders, trade contractors, and all allied professionals. This committee serves as a resource for professionals and homeowners, providing them with unbiased information about options available that will help them make their projects and their homes more sustainable. (I couldn’t recap that any better myself so credit goes to www.usgbcga.org).  This is an ongoing networking event that will meet on the 3rd Thursday of each month.

Check us out on Facebook and join the Group Here

Hope to see you soon!

Carson Matthews

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2009 Atlanta Green Home Sales Statistics January 1-June 30

I have been working hard to come up with a solid plan for reporting Certified Green Home Sales Statistics for Atlanta, Georgia.  After speaking with several industry professionals about best practices I believe we have a good report that will stand the test of time. 

The Criteria:
The findings are based on Single Family Homes that were built 2007 or later and were sold as New Construction in 39 Metro Atlanta FMLS areas.  This includes homes with a list price between $250,000 and $2,000,000.  Certified Green Homes include EarthCraft House, LEED for Homes, and Energy Star.  All findings are based on Median Numbers.

The Findings:
The median list price for green homes was $424,950 (6.3% higher than conventional new construction)
The median sales price was $397,500 (7.5% higher than conventional new construction)
The median sales price/list price ratio was 93.5% (1.1% higher than conventional new construction)
The medain total days on market was 128 days (5.5% less than conventional new construction)
The total number of homes sold was 45 homes (4.4% of the total market)

As you can see we are seeing a lot of success in the Atlanta market with Certified Green Home Sales.  The numbers are positive across the board and prove that there is value in Green Home Building.  We are excited with all of the movement going on in Atlanta with the recent formations of the Green Building Council of the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association, the Green Council of the Atlanta Board of Realtors, and the USGBC’s Residential Committee of the Georgia Chapter.  Together we are working to spread the word about Green Home Building and encourage the use of Green Building Certifications.  Below is a link to the full report and it can also be found in the right hand sidebar.   

Click Here for 1st Half 2009 Green Sales ReportCarson Matthews
Keller Williams Realty Peachtree Battle
678-595-9286
www.CarsonandCarol.com

Solar Powered Golf Carts

Credit SolarDrive.com

I saw a segment on ABC’s Good Morning America yesterday talking about solar powered golf carts.  Solar powered carts have a battery life that can last 30-35% longer than a standard electric charge.  The panels are produced by a company called Solar Drive and their website is www.SolarDrive.com.  Sebonack Golf Club in Southhampton, N.Y is the first golf club to power it’s entire golf cart fleet with Solar Drive’s solar panel roofing system.  You can order the panel system to install on your own golf cart and they can also be installed by the golf cart company when you order it from the factory.  Note: the 30% Federal tax credit is also available for this system, so with the tax credit and all of the energy savings, the payoff should be pretty fast, especially if you have 50-100 golf carts that have to charge up each night.

Happy Golfing!

The Green Life – Focused on Emerging Green Trends

Tonight we held the 2nd Green Life Series at the Blue Heron Nature Preserve in Buckhead which featured Esther Ayers > Green Girl Atlanta who spoke to us about ways to green up your life at home.  Highlights included Recycling, Composting, Rainwater Collection and Junk Mail.  She had a fabulous presentation that not only identified ways to go green, but solutions that you could take home tonight and put to work.  Info about next month’s Green Life Series will be coming soon.  If you are interested in speaking or attending, please email me at carsonmatthews@bellsouth.net.

Here are some pics from tonight.

 

To find out more about Esther and Green Girl Atlanta, visit www.GreenGirlAtlanta.com.

 

Carson Matthews
www.CarsonandCarol.com

A Visit to Greenhaven, Atlanta’s Premiere Eco-Decorators Showhouse

Today Carol and I finally made it out to Greenhaven, a subdivision of Green homes in Marietta that are tracking LEED for Homes, EarthCraft House & NAHB Green Certifications.  The house we went into is an Eco-Decorators showhouse where each room is decorated by a different company.  Personally I am more into the house and how it’s built, but man this place is stunning.  Everything about the home is unique and obviously very personal to the decorator who created the space.  We got a personal tour by Richard Feis of Pace Homebuilders.  He is a very experienced homebuilder and has been incorporating green features into his homes for most of his career.  Here are a couple of the things that stood out to me:

The Floors
Upon walking into the home the first thing to hit you is the floors.  They are wide plank heart pine floors that came from where else?  The bottom of a river in Florida…  Trees that sunk to the bottom of the river maybe hundreds of years ago are cut and made into planks for floors and are beautiful.  They are treated with a water based solution that “impregnates” the wood as opposed to coating the wood.  This really keeps the floors in their natural state and looks amazing. 

The Insulation
One of the reasons I really enjoyed the tour today was because of Richard’s vast knowledge of the market and products that are commonly used, and not necessarily the big brand names.  One of my favorite things to see in a home is blown in foam insulation.  To me it has one of the biggest impacts on a home that money can buy.  At Greenhaven they used a product called Urethane Soy which is an open cell foam insulation that has a soy product in it which eliminates some other kind of chemical.  If you are not familiar with foam insulation, google it.  This can have a dramatic effect on your energy bills and the comfort of your home.  Imagine the interior of your attic being 80 degrees in the summer rather than 140 degrees.  I can assure you it will not only make your house more comfortable, but imagine what it can do for your HVAC system that is struggling to cool your house when the ducts are combatting 140 degree temps as it moves from the system to your supply vent. 

The Roofing
The roof is made of  a composite shingle that you would never be able to tell wasn’t slate.  It’s called Certainteed Symphony Slate.  The tiles are made using infrared reflective (IR) pigments that are designed to maximize the durability of the tile and reduce cooling costs and energy.  The shingle is fully recycleable and looks amazing.

 

  

Rainwater Collection
A product that I am familiar with but have not seen too much in this market is the RainWaterPillow.  This amazing product collects rainwater in what they call a pillow and kindof reminds me of the “blob” at Camp Rockmont.  It’s a large pillow like container that holds your rainwater and in this case it is reused for all of the landscaping needs.  One of the cool features of the rain water pillow is it can be stored in areas where you would not be able to put a cistern…like under your deck or in the crawl space.  Check it out at www.rainwaterpillow.com.

 

Eco-Art
I would also like to give a shout out to my friend Dwayne Bass of Two Vital who came if as the home was being completed and did what any artist would do…took some of the trash and made it into a treasure.  Here is a shot of some of his work. 

 

 

 

 

And my Favorite Room

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Greenhaven has a great information website www.Greenhavenhome.com as well as Pace Homebuilders website www.PaceHomebuilders.com.  The homes and all of the artwork inside are for sale.  Don’t hesitate to call for more information or heck, drive over there and visit the homes yourself.  The home tour runs through August 9th and more information can be found on their website.

 

Carson Matthews
www.GreentotheScene.com

Georgia to Receive $50 million for Weatherization of Low-Income Homes

image credit bobvila.com

The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported that the State of Georgia will receive $50 million to expand it’s weatherization program for low income families, and could potentially receive as much as $125 million total if the state’s plan is effective and does what it is supposed to do.  This is part of Obama’s $787 billion Recovery Act Package.

How are low income families identified?  Up to twice the poverty level – Less than $44,100 for family of 4

Expected number of Homes? 13,600

Average cost per home? Up to $6,000

What improvements will be made? Sealing Air Ducts & Adding Weather Stripping to Windows

I can’t imagine that this won’t be successful.  I wish we could roll out programs like this to every existing home.  There is such an opportunity to save energy in existing homes.  If you are interested in improving the efficiency of your home, please don’t hesitate to ask.  I have some wonderful recommendations of efficiency-minded contractors that would love to help you out.  You can read the AJC article by clicking here.

Carson Matthews
Bringing Green to the Scene!

Solar Power at the Beach

This morning my son Henry and I went out to the beach to see the sunrise. It was amazing but it got me thinking about harnessing the power of the sun.  I can confidently say that I have not seen a solar panel once in all the years we have been coming here, and come to think about it at any beach…ever.  As much sun as these homes get day in and day out, there is a huge opportunity to collect that energy and use it to power these homes.  Especially if they are lightly used in the winter, you could probably pay for your summer bills by just selling the power back to the grid all winter.  I would imagine the payoff is pretty quick.  I’m just saying, if you are reading this and you own a beach house, you owe it to yourself to look into solar, you just might just find that pot of gold you were looking for as it rises over the Atlantic Ocean.

Cheers!