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2009 Builders' Show Goes Deeper Green

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The Associated Press

Published: January 24, 2009

LAS VEGAS - From water-stingy toilets and electricity sparing appliances to flooring and siding made from sustainable materials, the housing industry this week rolled out a trove of new green products it hoped would lure homebuyers back to the market.

Despite visibly lower attendance at this year's International Builders' Show on Tuesday through Friday, a record 363 vendors were featuring green products, more than double the number in 2008, 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 remains 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 magazine.

Growing competition among green product suppliers is cutting costs, making green more affordable.

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 of Belcher Homes in St. Louis. "They're pretty affordable now; they're made better and are more efficient."
Belcher liked new flashing materials that can resemble tape and are used to keep water from getting trapped in 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 geothermal and solar power.

He also highlighted a new electric tankless water heater designed for homes with hard water from sources such as wells.

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 for 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 of insulated concrete and about 40 percent of indoor lighting from LEDs and compact fluorescents.

CertainTeed Corp. of Valley Forge, Pa.., rolled out several 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 electrical 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 heat from 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, said Frank Stiebel, the company's president.

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

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

One dubbed the Cimarron uses gravity to push the water from the tank to the bowl. Unlike other toilets with a flip lid inside the tank, the Cimarron features a plastic stopper that limits the water per flush to about 1.3 gallons - far less than standard 3.5 gallon toilets.

That means 63 percent less water a year, the company says.

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