Green Building in North Carolina

Many retirees and people seeking to relocate have a specific idea of what they want in their Best Places to Live in North Carolina. Be it a cozy home in the mountains, or an expansive beach estate, North Carolina affords you with the opportunity to construct or modify a home that will satisfy your every desire.

It is easy to construct a home that meets your individual needs, but it is important to consider the environmental impact and energy efficiency of your North Carolina Best Places. These days, it is not difficult to find contractors and tradesmen who utilize "green building" methods.

You will be pleasantly surprised that eco-friendly building is rarely more expensive than traditional methods. The construction industry has caught on to the fact that using the latest environmental technologies in their practices leads to a larger customer base, and this offsets any additional costs they may incur.

One thing to make sure of is that you choose a contractor or builder who is LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified. This means that they have undergone training in "green building" practices and will build or update your home in a way that has minimal environmental impact. LEED is a national certification, and is becoming more and more common with North Carolina builders.

According to the February/March issue of Fine Homebuilding magazine, more than half the members of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) consider themselves as using green building practices. The problem is that other than LEED, there is little in the way of a consistent standard for measuring environmentally friendly practices. Therefore, it is up to you, the individual consumer, to be informed about the issues related to sustainable living so you can ensure that your home has little impact on North Carolina’s environment.

This includes being knowledgeable about energy efficiency issues, such as orienting your home to maximize sunlight exposure. Other concerns are ensuring water usage efficiency, as well as the possibility of using recycled material in the construction process.

Not only will building green not cost you more, but it will likely save money in the long run. North Carolina supports a host of incentives for living green. These include substantial tax rebates for those who use sustainable living practices like solar (or any renewable) energy to power their home. There are also numerous programs in place to credit consumers who use energy efficient appliances. In hot spots like Asheville and Mecklenburg County, building permit fees can be waived if eco-friendly building practices are used.

Your Best Place to Live in North Carolina will be even more satisfying when you know that it is doing minimal harm to the environment. After all, the natural beauty of North Carolina is what lured us in the first place - let’s do all we can to preserve it!

Visit Placesofvalue.com for more information on how to Build Green in North Carolina.