Homeowners Continue to Embrace Environmentally-Friendly Construction

FORT MILL, SC, November 25, 2010 (Press-News.org) Homeowners are still willing to pay more for a green home as long as incentives and rebates are available to help defray the extra costs.

One of the findings in a survey conducted as far back as late 2007 by Public Opinion Strategies for the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) bore that out. It indicated that among those who said they would pay more for a home with green features, fully 74 percent said they would be willing to pay no more than an additional 10 percent, highlighting the need to keep green building affordable.

Today's tax incentives and rebates for various energy efficient products and features, available from municipalities and levels of government from the local to the federal, are contributing to the continuation and growth of green building.

According to a study by the NAHB and McGraw-Hill Construction, the percentage of new homes built with eco-friendly features was forecast to rise from 2 percent in 2005 to as much as 10 percent by 2010.

One of NAHB's seven categories of Green building is indoor air quality. Residential Systems Magazines agrees, and also identifies energy efficiency as another "hallmark of the green building movement."

According to Joe Patrick, who heads national product management for VELUX America, both indoor air quality and energy efficiency can be enhanced with venting skylights. He says that they admit natural light from above to reduce energy costs and exhaust volatile organic compounds (VOCs), while transforming living areas into bright spaces.

"In bathrooms especially," Patrick says, "venting skylights reduce condensation build-up while providing a beautiful view of the sky above, without affording anyone the opportunity to see in. You get privacy plus the use of wall space, where a window isn't necessary, for decorating, storage, or another form of space utilization."

"And," Patrick says, "while homeowners are considering skylights, they should know that venting skylights in a kitchen can release hot air and odors, lessening the need for energy-consuming mechanical ventilation, while providing better light for brighter days and more pleasant cooking and dining."

Patrick says that studies show skylights admit 30 percent more light than vertical windows in dormers, and provide the drama of a sky view that can't be achieved with vertical windows. "And skylights, whether fixed or venting, which can be fitted with a variety of sun screening accessories, offer much more privacy than vertical windows," he says.

Even without accessories skylight glazings are among the best in the window and door industry. ENERGY STAR qualified units employ double-pane construction with argon gas injected low-E dual panes for control of heat gain or loss. Quality glazings control up to 83 percent of the sun's fade-causing rays and resist condensation so well that a home can contain up to 50 percent more humidity before condensation will occur. These units contain tempered and laminated panes for safety and maximum protection against fading. There are also impact glass models available that meet the strictest code requirements for wind-borne debris protections in hurricane-prone and other high-wind areas.

Patrick adds that modern skylights make one of the biggest fears of homeowners, leaks, a thing of the past. "Quality units offer matched, pre-engineered flashing kits for shingles, tile or metal roofing materials," he says. "They are designed and engineered to prevent leaks over the full life of a roof and, properly installed, simply don't leak." In fact, Patrick's company has introduced a new ENERGY STAR@ qualified product line, marketing it as the No Leak Skylight. "These units offer many new energy saving features plus three layers of water protection and are fully warranted," he says. "They also carry an industry-first ten-year installation warranty in addition to product coverage."

Patrick says that the growing availability of trained and certified skylight installation specialists also adds to the dependability of modern skylights.

And he points out that today's skylights contribute to energy efficiency with light and heat control as much as with ventilation by offering easily installed accessories to adjust and control light, as do vertical windows. "Venetian blinds are available to adjust light, as are roller blinds to diffuse light and blackout blinds to block light," he says," and the accessories, as well as the units themselves, can be operated by remote control." Solar blinds are also available that qualify for a 30 percent federal tax credit.

For skylight selection or installation information visit www.veluxusa.com. For government information on window and skylight energy efficiency visit www.energystar.gov, and for independent agency information visit www.nfrc.org or www.efficientwindows.org.

Media Contact:
Keith Hobbs - Business Services Associates, Inc. - 9413 Greenfield Drive - Raleigh, NC 27615-2306 - Phone - 919.844.0064 - E-mail - khobbs@nc.rr.com