Hill Country Custom Homes – Top Features of Green Homes

• Share

GREEN HOUSE BUILDING IN THE TEXAS HILL COUNTRY

Green house building is a term you see used a lot these days.  However, anyone contemplating building a custom home with green features is probably wondering if such considerations are worth it.  What really constitutes features of green homes?  In general, building a green house is about reducing the overall impact of the built environment on human health and the natural environment by efficiently using water, energy and other resources, protecting the occupants’ health and reducing waste, pollution and degradation of land.  We thought we’d share a few of our observations and experiences so you can evaluate whether building green is the right choice for your custom home.

ENERGY CONSIDERATIONS IN THE HILL COUNTRY

Despite the higher elevations, the Texas Hill Country still has hot summer sun and can go through extended periods of drought.  So, what can you do besides installing solar panels or residential wind energy generators?  Myriad additional things can be incorporated into the design of Hill Country custom homes to keep homes cooler, healthier and with lower operating expenses.

REPOSITION AND OPEN WIDE

Adding energy efficient opening windows, and orienting your home’s living areas and windows to catch the predictable southeasterly breezes during the warmer seasons can make a big difference in energy consumption and comfort in the Hill Country.  Double glazed windows with low e coatings can also reduce fading and sun damage inside of the home as well as take in less heat.  Living areas that take on the largest solar gain can be shaded in the summer under deciduous trees that also allow more winter sun when their leaves are gone.  Designing your home with outside living areas that take advantage of shade, breezes and indirect light are also part of building green.  Awnings, breezeways, and other shade structures can be placed with forethought to take advantage of and work with the natural elements.  Southern exposures are often the best for placing larger windows for views since they don’t need to be shielded from the sun.

HEALTHY AND EFFICIENT CHOICES

Non-toxic insulation is often a mainstay of green building and helps by lowering energy operating costs.  Effective insulation materials such as foams, cellulose, cotton or wool can reduce air leaks, minimize solar gain, and affect the quality of the air that you and your family breathe.

Custom homes with green features often consider a home’s contribution toward sustaining the unique environment in which it’s built.  After all, the reasons you’re buying beautiful land teaming with the flora and fauna of the Texas Hill Country is because you value that unique environment and want it to last.  Green house building isn’t a recent concept.  Native Americans who lived in the Hill Country sought to live in harmony with nature.

Appliances that you use in your home can also make a big difference in operating costs.  When you design a new home is the right time to consider the latest in energy conservation and efficiency in air conditioning and other air handling systems, thermostats, hot water creation and storage, dishwashing, refrigeration, cooking, light fixtures and more.

There can be health and environmental implications to the types of paint you use in your home, as well as the flooring materials, wall materials or sealers used.  Many natural fiber or low pile carpets can improve air quality.  Bamboo and sustainably harvested wood are attractive and viable green features for floors.  Green paints with low VOCs and toxins associated with other paints are also now available.

WATER SENSE

Water is a precious resource.  Drought affects us in many ways when annual rainfalls decline as they have in recent years.  Collecting rainwater, a free and plentiful resource, can benefit you and your surroundings.  Rainwater collection systems vary from simple rain chains or barrels to more complex catchment areas and underground storage tanks.  The most effective roofs for collecting rainwater are smooth surfaces, such as metal, clay or concrete.  These roofs have other green advantages as well.  Just reclaiming the rain that falls on your roof and other structures can represent thousands of gallons of water a year.  The water collected can give you an additional resource for irrigation, reduce erosion from downpours, and be readily available water for other uses.

Using point-of-use water heating and water treatment, lower flush toilets and bidets can all lead to greater efficiency of water.  And, we’re just skimming the surface of features of green homes.  If you’re considering building a new home, take into consideration some of the different ways you can have it custom designed to incorporate lower operating costs, health and comfort that best fits your lifestyle.

RANCHES OF BRUSHY TOP

At the Ranches of Brushy Top we have many custom home builders that elegantly incorporate features of green homes into their designs.   We recognize that those looking for a ranch community such as Brushy Top, with 5-75 acre home sites and a magnificent 80 acre nature preserve are people who really appreciate nature and natural beauty and want to keep it that way.  Ninety percent of our home sites have 1400- to 2000-foot elevations affording long views and strong breezes in the surrounding peace of the Hill Country.