Las Vegas builder joins green program

Southern Nevada Green Building Partnership has been able to attract its first member. The ambitious program was put together by the Southern Nevada Home Builders Association and the Green Building Initiative of Portland, OR, to assist local firms in the design and construction of more environmentally correct new houses. The builder with the vision that signed up from the valley is Signature Custom Homes.

To begin with, its plan is modest. It's only going to build two homes in the first phase. Despite that the features going into the homes are impressive and somewhat exotic, at least to me. They include radiant heat barriers, low-flow water fixtures, dual-flush toilets, tankless hot water heaters, dual-glazed and tinted windows filled with argon gas, solar systems to produce power, A/C units with SEER rating of 17 and Energy Star appliances. That is quite a collection of upgrades that will make a difference.

According to the builder the cost will be 3 to 5% higher than in a conventional version of the same, however the savings in electricity, gas and water will even that out in 5 to 7 years, he calculates. And there is the main point of going green. You don't only save money for yourself, but you help the environment at the same time.