Hidden Benefits of a Green Home When people describe what a green home is, they usually talk about solar panels and compact fluorescent light

bulbs. These two items are part of making a home energy efficient and a major component of green homes, but there’s much more to energy efficiency, including high-quality windows, insulation and sealing, and an efficient air conditioner.

Homes built to Energy Star requirements are at least 15 percent more efficient than a home built to current code. There are even building standards being developed for net-zero energy homes that produce as much energy as they take off the electrical grid.

Some benefits of energy efficiency are obvious, such as saving money on your monthly utilities. One that’s not at all obvious is that energy efficiency saves water. According to Pima County’s Green Building Evaluation, it takes 0.75 gallons of water to produce 1kWh of electricity. If you use 1,200 kWh a month, that’s equivalent to 900 gallons of water monthly, or 10,800 gallons per year. Energy-efficient homes have a huge potential to conserve water, so by conserving energy we benefit ourselves financially and help our community, as well.

For more information contact Jan Anderson, a Realtor® GREEN, EcoBroker® with Long Realty Company, at 520-404-1501.