This certified green home by Hibbs Homes was completed in 2007, and was one of the first gold level homes in the St Louis area under the St Louis HBA Green Building Initiative.

Green is a very popular color these days, especially in the home building industry. And it might not be for the reason you are thinking. More people are choosing green homes not because they are good for the planet, but because because green, high performance homes save homeowners so much money in monthly utilities and maintenance costs.

Back in 2007, Hibbs Homes built one of the first gold level homes in the St. Louis area certified under the St Louis Home Builder’s Association’s Green Building Initiative. And more recently we’ve been working on the first home in the United States using the Active House sustainable building specifications developed in Europe (which you can see first hand at our upcoming open house on March 9).

Now that St Louisans are becoming more familiar with the cost savings and the health benefits of a green home, the number of builders offering green construction to their clients. But while many builders claim to build green, it is important to understand that not every home is the same shade of sustainable, and that also means not every green home can be considered high performance.

Light green means a builder focuses on relatively easy (yet important!) steps such as installing Energy Star rated windows, lights and appliances. While other builders go down a more rigorous path to insure the home is environmentally friendly, sustainable, more efficient, more durable, and provides better indoor air quality. And they often work with homeowners for certifications during the building process so the green aspects of the home are documents and verified through a third-party that can help preserve resale value.

If you are in the market for a green, or high performance, home builder we recommend asking the following questions so you can gain some insight into a builder’s definition of green -

1) To what specifications of green do they build? Ask for specifics and have them thoroughly explain their answer.

2) Does the builder have experience building verified green homes? Verification through National Association of Home Builders, Energy Star or United States Green Building Council means a home meets strict standards for green construction. In addition to the NAHB, Energy Star and USGBC programs, there are many successful local and state green building programs. GBI-St. Louis, Built Green Colorado and Build Green Utah are a few examples.

4) Does the builder have extended education or a designation in green building? The National Association of Home Builders offers a Certified Green Professional designation, while the United States Green Building Council offers LEED accreditation. Builders must commit to several hours of continuing education and pass competency tests to earn these designations/accreditations.

Asking the right questions will help you find the right builder that fits your definition of green, and will help ensure that your home is performing at the level that you hope for.

When it comes to green the coasts tend to get a lot of the credit. But right now that paradigm is changing as Active House USA comes together right in the heart of the Midwest in the St Louis suburb of Webster Groves, MO.

We’ve talked a little bit about this prototype home the is being built by Hibbs Homes and Verdatek Solutions, using the Active House specifications developed in Europe, and four prestigious, US green building standards including the ANSI-700 National Green Building Standard, EPA Indoor Air Quality, Energy Star, and Builder’s Challenge initiatives.

Active House USA is really a sort of showcase home for top of the line technologies and systems used in the high performance building industry today. And, in addition to bringing together industry leading products, the Active House USA partners and providers are some of the most respected and knowledgeable companies in the green building field. And thanks to an outstanding team and products this innovative home is pushing the edge of green building.

We have come a long way since the groundbreaking in May 2012, and to celebrate we want to give the community a chance to get their boots muddy and take a tour of the home mid-construction and before these systems and products are sealed behind the drywall and finishes.

We have two muddy boots tours scheduled on site at Active House USA:

Industry and Media Day
and Architect’s AIA Seminar
Friday October 12, 2012
10am until 2pm

Open House for General Public
Saturday October 13, 2012
10am until 2pm (RSVP on Facebook)

@ Active House USA, 215 S Gray Avenue Webster Groves, MO

Some of the top names in green building will be on hand to discuss the processes and products being used for positive energy production, a healthier indoor environment, and so it is in balance with the environment.

Partner Laclede Gas will be on hand grilling so bring a hungry stomach and mind!

Our Open House Partners

We hope to see everyone there!

In this rendering from architect Jeff Day you can see how Active House utilizes natural lighting and energy via windows and lot placement to conserve energy.

We are in the middle of two very exciting and important weeks in the construction of Active House USA. As you can imagine, it takes a team of highly skilled hardworking people to partner together to build a new, custom home. And with all of the industry leading technologies and techniques that are going into Active House USA, the partners involved in the project are as enthusiastic as they are dedicated to making this project successful.

Over the last few months architect Jeff Day has worked closely with the homeowners, as well the Hibbs Homes and Verdatek Solutions crew and project partners, to design an innovative green home that also blends seamlessly with the surrounding, historic neighborhood of Webster Groves, MO. Visually the home is at home with it’s neighbors, however the energy efficiency, indoor air quality, and the attention to the surrounding environment are features that the rest of the block would be hard pressed to keep up with. In fact, the design fits within in the neighborhood so well that Active House project manager Matt Belcher of Verdatek Solutions overheard many people who visited at an Active House Alliance conference booth in Europe commenting on how traditional and all-American the design of the home is compared to the other prototype homes around the world.

Consulting partner & Active House project manager Matt Belcher with homeowners David, Thuy & Cameron Smith.

To make way for Active House USA, the previous house on the lot was torn down yesterday, and the homeowners were there along with friends and family to watch this very important first step towards their new home take place. Homeowner David Smith was even manning the equipment during the first few swipes, taking down the front porch and front facade before turning it over to the pros.

Next week marks another important Active House milestone-groundbreaking! Hibbs Homes, Verdatek Solutions, Active House Alliance members, will be there along with local leaders and the homeowners to mark the official start of construction on May 2 at 10:00am. In the weeks following the ceremony, construction crews will start getting to work, and the goal is to have the home certified, the homeowners moved in, and have Mizzou’s monitoring set and ready to go by this fall.

You can find out more about the project and follow the progress by heading over the the website ActiveHouseUSA.com, and find out more about Active House and the Alliance by heading to ActiveHouse.info.