Salt Lake City's Green Homes Tour may sweep away those misconceptions.
"Green" means construction that uses environmentally sensitive concepts and such materials as passive solar energy and recyclables. The nine homes on the tour - seven in Salt Lake and two in Park City - include older homes that have been retrofitted with green materials and new ones that reduce pollution and operating costs. Tour founder Ashley Patterson's goal is to educate homeowners and developers about the possibilities of building green. Eighteen sponsors will show how practices and products that help the environment can be applied to any budget.
"People think there's more expense involved in green building," says Patterson, owner of The Green Building Center, "but low-VOC [volatile organic compounds] paints, for instance, don't cost any more than regular brands and cover just as well."
Expense does not have to be a consideration, says Meredith Mannebach, government affairs coordinator for the Salt Lake Home Builders Association (SLHBA). A "built green" checklist adopted by the Park City Home Builders Association ensures new construction will be environmentally friendly and cost effective.
"Park City has done the most in Utah, but West Jordan is giving incentives to builders and developers for holding to conservation ordinances. Salt Lake County Mayor Corroon requires all new county buildings to measure up to green standards. And Salt Lake is working on landscaping. It is a trend just now starting."
Green building ideas you'll see on the tour are locally made, recycled products that don't have high transportation costs built in, awnings on west-facing windows to reduce dependency on air conditioning, and rain catchment systems. You can also see innovative energy-saving methods such as straw-bale construction, structural insulation panels (SIPS) and insulated concrete forms (ICF).
As a trend, green building is "growing by leaps and bounds" in Utah, says Patterson. "I think Al Gore's movie ["An Inconvenient Truth," about global warming] has had a big effect."
To demonstrate the ecological benefits of public transportation, up to 75 ticket-holders can opt for a guided, all-day excursion in vans. Bicyclists, students and seniors qualify for discounted tickets. Or you can drive yourself.
Twenty percent of the profits will be donated to Design Build Utah, a nonprofit organization that designs eco-friendly structures for needy families, and Utah House, an education and demonstration facility for sustainable building using energy and water conservation.
While all of these ideas appeal to a sense of practicality, what about the deep-seated emotional associations we have with the word "home?" Says Patterson: "I think we've done a really good job showing that a green home can look just like everyone else's or it can be really unique."
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Contact Jane Grau at jgrau@sltrib.com or 801-257-8611. Send comments about this story to livingeditor@sltrib.com.
Green Homes Tour
* The second annual tour is Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets are available at The Green Building Center, 1952 E. 2700 South in Salt Lake City, and are $15, $10 for bicyclists, students and seniors. For information about the kickoff or the tour, call 801-484-6278 or e-mail info@greenbuildingcenter.net.
