September 3, 2006

Save energy. Save the planet.

This family's "green" home shows that you can mix responsibility with occasional perks.

By Melanie D.G. Kaplan

There is no question that Nili Simhai is a model green citizen. She brings her own bags to the market, buys organic strawberries, uses non-toxic cleaning products and lives with her husband, Yosh Schulman, in what the New York State Energy and Research Development Authority calls one of the state's most energy-efficient homes. But the same house that has solar panels and recycled denim insulation also features something that's far from green: a 71-gallon whirlpool. Simhai is the first to admit her tub is downright wasteful, but she knows better than to deprive herself of an extravagance just ' she generally thinks, buys and lives green.

"It uses a ridiculous amount of water," says Simhai, the director of an environmental education center. "So it's a luxury, but we felt like we could have it."

Welcome to the new shade of green. Today's homeowners know you don't necessarily have to part with the finer things in life or break the bank to save the planet. In fact, Americans living in houses that conserve water, preserve indoor air quality and use energy efficiently often are living better, healthier and cheaper than their neighbors -- and they're having a blast doing it. After all, what's more fun than getting a check from the electric company because your solar panels produce more than double the energy you need, and the utility pays you for the surplus? (Simhai and Schulman received a check this year for $141 from their local utility company.)

"Green building has been around for some time, but it's viewed as something for people on the fringe," says Jonathan Philips, senior director of Cherokee Investment Partners in Raleigh, N.C., a redevelopment company that's building a showcase house called the National Homebuilder Mainstream GreenHome. Philips says one of the goals is to find the intersection of good living and sustainability. "You can't tell people to hang their clothes on a clothesline and not use a dryer." He says a green house can look just like the suburban house next door, but its performance is light-years better. And with energy prices through the roof, it's not just ecological, it's economical.

Simhai and her husband, both in their early 30s, always have been concerned with preserving resources, and they knew the homes they had rented for years were inefficient. They decided to build a home in Millerton, N.Y., after they realized a new super-green house would make the least impact on the environment. They chose a kit from Deltec, a company that makes energy-efficient round homes. The cost of buying and assembling the kit, plus appliances and finishing, was $170,000. Add in costs for the land and foundation, and the house, completed in June 2004, rang up at $240,000. It was built with recycled gypsum board walls, copper (instead of PVC) piping, non-toxic, biodegradable paints and recycled glass tiles. Inside are Energy Star appliances: a dishwasher, washer and dryer from Asko, and a refrigerator from Kenmore.

"This really was an extension of our values," says Schulman, a computer consultant. "We want to walk the walk." The only drawback is that the house doesn't have air conditioning. "That's a killer energy sucker," says Schulman, who jokes that the extra energy his solar panels produce (on average, 240 kilowatts per month) probably powers his neighbor's AC unit.