In recent years, people have become increasingly concerned with the environment and climate change. One major factor connected to global warming would be the carbon dioxide emissions that come from everyday human activities, such as driving our cars or operating our homes. For those who are new in their environmental awareness, one of the first things they look to improve is their home, whether it’s through home improvements, like installing energy-efficient appliances and solar panels, or moving into a new, environmentally certified home.
In addition to helping Mother Earth, these homeowners would like to help their pockets by benefiting from the often-touted savings that these particular upgrades provide.
But, are homeowners and homebuyers truly making the change they think they are?
In honor of Earth Day, Trulia released its “It Ain’t Easy Being Green,” study that highlights the gap between awareness of environmental issues and actually doing something about it.
According to the study, 73 percent of Americans strongly agree that they will be environmentally conscious and think about the environment within their actions at least one time each day.
Out of that group, 56 percent believe buying energy efficient appliances are the best solution to improve the environment, 53 % believe in making energy efficient home upgrades and 38 percent believe walking, bike riding or taking public transportation is the way to go.
These options are the priciest, to the majority of people’s surprise and chagrin, and also the least impactful out of all the opportunities available.
Environmentally certified homes: What’s the cost?
Dr. Martin Brown, a researcher and consultant on the environment and housing, did his own study, “The green ‘premium’ for environmentally certified homes: a meta-analysis and exploration.”
His research analyzed existing studies concerning the premium for certified homess worldwide. It also investigated the potential sources of value behind the premium by using a sample of 43 people who own certified homes within his hometown of Portland, Oregon.
According to Dr. Brown, homeowners in Portland approximately pay an added $890 annually for a certified home, but when it comes down to it, their actual energy savings are about $300.
“Even starker was the relatively small impact of certified housing in terms of climate mitigation (about 4 percent of an average household’s carbon footprint), and its small value in the market ($24 on average),” the study noted.
Increased comfort at a price
So, why do homeowners continue to spend more money on certified homes?
Martin says it comes to the increased comfort that energy-efficient appliances and home-building practices bring. “Homeowners say their homes are more comfy, there are no drafts, and it’s more quiet due in part to some of the things needed to get the home certified,” Brown says.
Moreover, he highlights that the average homeowner isn’t necessarily doing the research to know the actual impact of the certification they’re paying for.
Brown says there are far more cost-effective options which have an increased impact on the environment. For example, homeowners would pay just around $20 per ton (of mitigated carbon) for green electricity – a much cheaper option than paying an extra $890 per year for a certified home.
Home builders are incorporating green building practices into non-certified homes, Brown added, and on average, certified homes (with the lowest level of certification) are only a 15-percent improvement from standard building codes.
To stay relevant, Brown suggests that LEED, EnergyStar and other programs implement stricter certification standards by bumping up their minimum level of certification to a 30 % improvement.
He says that homeowners shouldn’t totally shun the certification process, which could be of assistance when it comes time to sell, but they should be aware that they’re not completely eliminating their carbon footprint.
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