PrintA Long Island family has turned a tragedy into an opportunity-a green opportunity that is. And the family might live happily ever after.
David Dubin and his family lost their home to a fire back in late December of this year but rather than sulking, they rebuilt their home in what may be the first net zero energy consumption, certified carbon neutral, and LEED Platinum home. With the help of the Hamptons Green Alliance, the Dubins, who were already known as environmentalists, assembled the green home of their dreams.
To date, the Dubin’s home is a true energy-conserving house that could set the standard for green homes in the future. There is a great opportunity to demonstrate the benefits of greening a home, particularly quantifying energy savings. The Dubin’s will have existing records of energy usage to compare against the new energy consumption of the finished green home. This hopefully, will provide a realistic case study that other families can relate to with regard to the direct benefits of building an energy-efficient home. The Dubins are expected to profit from this energy saving activity by paying lower energy bills throughout the duration of their stay in the home.
The Dubin’s green makeover could be the tip of a new wave of green makeovers to come. The ability to start over-rebuild a home-is what provides a great opportunity for home greening. Some analysts believe that the current foreclosure crisis also offers a great opportunity for home greening.
Because of mounting foreclosures over the past several years, there has been a marked increase in the supply of vacant homes in the United States. Families that purchase vacant homes have the opportunity to add energy conserving materials, thereby, reducing their future energy costs. The opportunity is there because the home is vacant which makes it less cumbersome for the family to live through some construction activity in the home.
Investors purchasing vacant homes may also have a financial incentive to green a home. A vacant home provides an opportunity for an investor to add some energy conserving materials to the home, particularly if the investor acquired the home at a deep discount in the local marketplace. The financial incentive for the investor is that a green home should be more attractive to potential buyers than non-green homes when the investor decides to sell the property in pursuit of a healthy price gain.
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