If you were looking at real estate ads and saw one that said “green homes for sale,” you may initially wonder why anyone would have a listing indicating the color of their home. This is not what this type of ad means. It’s just stating that the houses for sale are green and energy efficient. Green homes for sale are being built in an effort to reduce the carbon footprints we leave behind.

When you buy a green house, it will contain some or all of the following features that are friendly to the environment.

• Fiber cement cladding
• Alternative energy system such as wind and solar
• Recycled building insulation
• No stains or paints VOC, which stands for Volatile Organic Compound. It is any compound that has a carbon base and vaporizes at standard room temperature. Some of the most common are formaldehyde, acetone and methane.
• Hot water heating with solar energy

Even if you don’t live in a green home, there are things you can do to increase your energy conservation. It will even help contribute to saving our environment. Converting your home to a green home can help reduce the overall warning and save the homeowner money. It will significantly improve the environment and require little effort from the owner.

making a green home

• Instead of using standard incandescent light bulbs, switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). When you switch to CFLs, you can save over a hundred dollars a year. You can find these lights down the hall from regular bulbs, but they are a bit more expensive. In the United States, if all homes switched to CFLs from the type of light bulbs they were using, there would be a trillion-pound reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
• Install a thermostat that is programmable – With this type of thermostat, the owner can program the thermostat so that the air conditioning or heat is off when the owners are not home. The programmable thermostat can be set to cool or heat your home shortly before your landlord arrives. This change could save the homeowner ten percent or more in heating and cooling costs.
• Plug air leaks – This will help the homeowner save money and practice conservation. You can do this by installing weather stripping, preventing the temperature in your home from fluctuating rapidly, and properly sealing windows to stop drafts.
• Energy Star® Qualified Appliances – These reduce the amount of electricity needed to operate them, so they have less of an impact on the environment. They will also save on your energy bill.

If you are buying a house, choose energy efficient green houses for sale.