green real estate asheville: I wrote a post this week on one of our favorite green homes for sale in Asheville, NC. When one of our 
real estate colleagues inquired,
"What makes this home so GREEN?"...I did some research and offer the report that follows:
Green Building Attributes:
1. Passive solar design
2. low maintenance exterior 3. highly insulated exterior walls and roof
4. high efficiency variable speed heat pump
5. recycled kitchen cabinets 6. milled on-site cleared and wind-falling trees
7. recycled greenhouse plastic vapor barrier under cement pad
8. natural boric acid termite treatment
9. foiled faced rigid insulation on roof
10. low VOC sub-floor and interior paint
11. low maintenance native and eatable landscape
12. landscape rocks (walls and paths) were obtain on-site and within 1 miles of building site.
13. Over 90% of lighting is fluorescent
14. Grided and finished cement floor adds thermal mass and low maintenance
15. tight high quality Hurd windows
Design: The main objective was to preserve the mature hardwood trees and rhododendrons while taking advantage of the southern exposure with good "green" and passive solar design. A significant design element is the large south facing sliding glass doors in the great room and bedrooms. This design configuration brings daylight deep into the house, connects the interior space to native hardwood trees, offer pristine views of the mountains, while the southern exposure allows for solar energy gain.
The kitchen, living, and dining areas are one big space with large areas of glazing on south side. These windows are protected during the hot summer months by the mature deciduous trees, adding to the house's overall energy efficiency. The north and west face has minimum window area. The color palette (bronze) of the exterior surfaces are dark, absorbing solar energy during the winter months. The abundance of hardwood trees around the house keep it cool during the warmer seasons while also maintaining complete privacy. The net result is extremely low energy use with an average utility bill of less than $50/month. All domestic energy demands are 100% electric supplemented with a wood burning stove.
Construction: The house is built using basic stick framing with low maintenance cement board siding trimmed with western red cedar. A maroon-color standing seam metal roof adds aesthetic qualities while contributing to the sustainability and low maintenance of the exterior. The interior woodwork is highly crafted of fine hardwoods milled on-site.
Landscape Design:The 3.5 acre site is blessed with an abundance of mature hardwood trees, native rhododendrons and mountain laurels. The house site was carefully placed on top of a sloping knoll so as to maintain the largest oak, hickory, and maple trees and the many native (flame) azaleas. After careful thinning of the wooded area, native plants were incorporated into the landscape, such as oak leaf and flowering hydrangeas, ferns, dogwoods, hemlocks, rhododendrons, hollies, irises, daylilies, laurels, hostas, etc. Many low maintenance edible fruit bearing plants were added including blueberries, strawberries, cherry trees, service berry and herbs. Finally, an area was designated to accommodate a vegetable garden. All planted vegetation is grown organically utilizing the site's top soil supplemented with organic fertilizers and generous amounts of on-site produced compost.
HVAC:Force air heating and cooling- Trane high efficiency heat pump 14 seer rating, 34,000 BTU/HR Max Blank (Mfg. in Germany) woodstove with baking oven. All HVAC duct work and air handler are within the insulation envelope of the home.
Sewer and Water:465 foot deep well (8 gpm flow) and gravity feed septic system.
Site:A beautiful south facing mountain property was an opportunity to design a contemporary passive solar home that limit the disturbance of native vegetation while maximizing visual connection to nature. The 3.5 acre site is located in Merrill's Cove (Southeast Asheville), just a 15 minute drive to downtown Asheville and 15 minutes to the regional airport. This rural residential lot in a restricted development and offers complete privacy, sloping land, mature hardwood trees, southern exposure, and 180 degree pristine mountain year-around view.
Exterior Materials:Hardi panel cement board accented with Vermont slate roofing shakes, vertical grain western red cedar and mahogany, standing seam metal roof, ipe (ironwood),
white oak and locust decking (milled on-site), stainless and galvanized steel fasteners.
Interior Materials:Painted drywall, quarter-sawn white, red oak and hickory floors, quarter sawn oak, walnut, and cherry trim, white oak/steel tubing baluster, split-face block, granite counter top and hearth, stainless steel counter tops, and T&G spruce cathedral ceiling in great room. All hardwood flooring and trim were milled (quarter-sawn) on-site from building site trees and wind fallen trees found near the site.
Cabinetry:Custom built and recycled kitchen cabinets (birdseye maple faced drawers and doors featuring Blum hardware with full extension under-mount slides and soft close blumotion). Bathroom cabinetry utilizes black cherry, mahogany, white oak, black walnut, and stainless steel.
Doors and Hardware:Front door is custom built by owner using quarter-sawn white oak and black cherry, and ball bearing hinges. Solid birch interior door with contemporary Schlage hardware.
Plumbing Fixtures:Grohe throughout with Kohler Class 5, low-flush toilets.
Electrical Fixtures: 3 ceiling fans (contemporary and energy star rated), custom design wall scones, stainless steel/glass exterior lights. All bath exhaust fans are remote for quiet operation and energy efficiency.
Windows:High Efficiency Hurd sliding doors and windows. Anodized bronze aluminum cladding with wood interior.
Insulation:Formaldehyde free fiberglass wall insulation R19 and R30 (1st level). Foil face polyisocyanurate foam insulation under 1st level cement floor R14, behind block walls R17, and roof R42
Appliances: All stainless steel appliances, Kitchen-aid cook top & refrigerator, Bosch dishwasher, Dacor convection wall oven, and GE frontload washer & dryer.
Electronics:All the bedrooms as well as the office is wired for cable and phone. High speed internet available thru phone company. Power boosted TV antenna has been installed which receives high definition local and public stations (no monthly cable TV fees). Satellite high definition television is also available.
These are just a few of the features that benefit the biuyer who chooses GREEN.
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(*)/'(*) .......... ............ green real estate Asheville: GOING GREEN: Mountain homes and land legacies, socially conscious investing, rolling into a sustainable world. Create it today for tomorrow. Find eco-friendly LAND. Build a green home. GREEN Real Estate, Retrofits and Relocation: ECO HOMES AND LAND. Serving Asheville's Eco-Friendly-Home, Relocation LAND Clients. The Eco-Steward Firm, ALL Eco-Certified® Real Estate Consultants! Copyright © 2009 All Rights Reserved
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" What I want is so simple I almost can't say it: elementary kindness.
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neither the destroyers, nor the destroyed."
~ Barbara Kingsolver
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