Eco-friendly homes - Business First of Buffalo:

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But others are championing an environmentally conscious approacjh to residential living as the regiomn and the nationcombat high-energy consumption and poor health. Adam Sokol is among The Buffalo architect is buildingan energy-efficienyt house on the city’s West Side, amid stately residencesx that have been drafty and seepinf heat for the better part of a century. The federapl government estimates that existing housingg stock accounts for 21 percent ofthe nation’s annual energh consumption. Sokol has incorporated several energy-saving features in the construction ofthe single-family house at 541 Bird Ave.
The feature include the not-so-unusual: foam insulation, a tankless waterd heater and good windows that allow the house to take advantageeof daylight. Then there’s a heat recovery system that filters the air to keep mold and stals airfrom accumulating. The exterior is covered with roofin shingles and siding made fromrecycled rubber. “If you care abouyt the environment, it’s obvious,” Sokoll said. The sale price has yet to be but Sokol estimates that he spen t inthe low–to–mid-$200,000 range to build it. That’w inexpensive relative to retrofitting an old housew with energyefficient features, he said.
Experts say any houser that is at least 10 years old couldx benefitfrom energy-saving upgrades. The adderd advantage of overhaulingaging however, is that they are usually located in dense communitiesz that are less reliant on automobiles. Real estate broker Caroo Holcberg said she noticed amonbg homebuyers an increased interest in neighborhoods when gas prices startec to spike a fewyears ago. Walkable neighborhoodxs typically include a clusterof single-family houses and multiplew units that is centered or ringed by retaio and other business. Designj features such as sidewalks and lighting and elements suchas full-stop intersections and crosswalkxs encourage more foot traffic.
“Any neighborhoodr with a village center, people are anxioux to be there so they can walk to get a quartr of milk or go to a said Holcberg, who heads Holcbergh Ltd. Real Estate in Buffalo. Walkinhg is getting to be a “big deal” among homebuyers, and they’re moving to where they can do that saidSusie Lenahan, a broker with MJ Petersonn Corp.’s Buffalo office. “There’s nowhere to walk on Transift Road orSheridan Drive,” she said of the multilaned thoroughfares serving the northern suburbs.
For homebuyers who are looking for certainenvironmental qualities, developerw have come up with individual projects, such as ’s Muir Woods, an Amhersgt project that combines natural settings with commercial, residential and retaill construction. Others are incorporating green spacew amongnew homes, rather than usin the formerly common practices of bulldozing treed areas and buildinbg on a “prairie,” said Jay Coles of / . But such consumefr interest ishardly widespread, suggested Maureenm Flavin, a broker with RealtyUSA.
She recalledx the highly energy-efficient features of a city condominiu m that failed to captivatepotential “‘Oh, that’s great,’ they Flavin remembers, “‘but how many bathroomz does it have?’”