Builders dangle ‘green’ lure to home buyers

From water-stingy toilets and electricity sparing appliances, to flooring and siding made from sustainable materials, the housing industry this week rolled out many new, "green" products it hopes will lure homebuyers back into the market.

Despite visibly lower attendance at this year's International Builders' Show, a record 363 vendors were featuring "green" products, more than double the number last year, said Calli Barker Schmidt, a spokeswoman for the National Association of Home Builders.

"I'd be surprised if there wasn't some sort of a 'green' attribute to every product down there," she said.

The tide toward "green" building that has taken hold in recent years remained unabated as the industry looks forward to better days, convinced that energy-efficient homes outfitted with sustainable materials will be coveted by future homebuyers.

"People are interested in the things they can do to cut energy bills in the long run," said Gayle Butler, editor-in-chief of Better Homes and Gardens.

And increasing competition between "green" product suppliers is driving costs down, making it more affordable to build greener homes.

One example of a technology that has become cheaper is radiant floor systems, which function as heaters.

"Four or five years ago, it was pretty cost prohibitive," said Matt Belcher, president of Belcher Homes in St. Louis, Mo. "They're pretty affordable now, they're made better and are more efficient."

Among this year's slate of products, Belcher was impressed with new "flashing materials," which can resemble tape and are used to keep water from getting trapped inside the home.

"You can't see it, it goes underneath the siding ... but to somebody like me, that's great to see," said Belcher, who builds near-zero energy homes featuring "green" features such as geothermal and solar power units.

He also highlighted a new electric tankless water heater designed to be used in homes that receive hard water from sources like wells.

"Until now, it's been hard to use tankless water heaters," he said.

Many of the latest innovations were on display in the New American Home, billed as a state-of-the-art laboratory for new construction and built in Las Vegas in conjunction with the convention.

The 8,721 square-foot home features solar paneled awnings that draw energy from the sun and from sunlight reflected off the ground, walls made from insulated concrete and some 40 percent of its indoor lights from light-emitting diodes and compact fluorescents.

Many products at the convention don't represent advances of leaps and bounds, but rather modest improvements in how they're made or a wider variety of offerings.

CertainTeed Corp. of Valley Forge, Pa., rolled out several new siding, roofing and ceiling components made of synthetic materials.

Its Cedar Impressions Naturals siding, made of fiber cement, includes up to 30 percent fly ash, a glasslike powder emitted by coal-fired electric power plants.

Several exhibitors were displaying energy efficient water heaters, including Stiebel Eltron Inc.

The West Hatfield, Mass.-based company is the latest to use hot air to heat water.

Its W300 draws the heat from the surrounding air and uses it to raise the temperature of the water in the 80-gallon tank, using up to 80 percent less energy than a standard heater that uses electricity to heat the water, said Frank Stiebel, the company's president.

As an added perk, the heater churns out cooler air and cuts down on humidity.

"If you're using a lot of hot water all at once, the electric element will kick in to supplement it," Stiebel said.

The unit will be available in the United States beginning in March for about $2,500, he said.

Gas or propane-powered fireplaces can be an energy efficient way to heat a room, and fireplace maker Napoleon showcased several stylish designs at the show, including its new Crystallo model. The rectangular fireplace is designed to fit several feet up off the floor, like a wall-embedded fish tank, and generates up to 17,000 British thermal units.

The fireplace, which can be placed in bedrooms, bathrooms and even mobile homes, is priced at $1,500.

Kohler, one of the show's "green" building sponsors, displayed several new stylish and water-saving designs for toilets.