When you're visiting new home communities here in San Bernardino County, you'll notice that much of the appeal of today's new home is due to the fact that new homes offer the safest, healthiest and most environmentally - friendly living environment in history.

Today's new home is the best ever built because, from local model home tours and events to national and international building shows and expositions, today's new homebuilders stay  abreast of all of the latest trends in new home design, construction and materials innovations to bring you the best home you can buy and the best investment you can make.

To accomplish this, today's new homebuilders literally build for the future. For example, at the recent 2009 International Builders' Show in Las Vegas, NV, organizers unveiled the 2009 New
American Home - a home incorporating decades of innovations to anticipate and meet the needs of homeowners both today and in the future.

In a one-of-a-kind exhibition, The New American Home showcases the most groundbreaking state - of - the - art energy efficiency technologies in the 26 - year history of The New American Home program. From insulation and wraps to natural gas-powered heating and cooling systems to photovoltaic cells and solar water heating; The New American Home revealed how these energy systems work together to make this a near zero-energy home.

Sponsored by the National Council of the Housing Industry and Builder Magazine, The New American Home is one of most successful and visible programs created by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and displays the latest in new home energy efficiency, indoor - air quality, safety, convenience and aesthetics.

The key word for housing in the future is 'green' or environmentally conscious design, and green is reflected in the new home's site development, indoor air quality, operation, maintenance, homeowner education and - most importantly - resource, energy and
water efficiency.

For example, The New American Home is situated or 'sited' to optimize solar resources and incorporates landscape design to limit water and energy demand to ensure the design has no impact any environmentally sensitive areas. That way, soil erosion and disturbance are kept to a minimum.

To minimize the quantity of materials employed in the construction of the home while reducing construction waste, the New American Home utilizes advanced framing techniques
which incorporate pre-manufactured trusses and floor systems along with building materials that require no additional on-site finish resources.

The New American Home also illustrates how home builders can best utilize recycled building materials such as new materials manufactured from renewable resources or materials made
with fewer resources than traditional products. This 'greener' approach to construction also includes the latest in recycling and waste - management programs which include on-site bins for collecting and sorting waste materials which will then be recycled off-site.

The design shows how the latest innovations in materials technology such as 'Low - e' windows can reduce the impacts and costs of heat and cold on new homes. 'Low-e' window coatings feature microscopically thin layers of metallic oxide bonded to the surface of a window's glass to protect against heat and ultra-violet (UV) rays. They are designed to keep warmth inside while protecting against external heat. These innovations combine with new insulation materials, vertical and horizontal solar overhangs, window louvers and a highly - efficient gas-powered heating and cooling system enable The New American Home to boast highest possible energy-efficiency rating.

The New American Home features water-saving features to improve both indoor and outdoor consumption such as on-demand water heaters, control - activated recirculation, water-conserving appliances, low-flow faucets and toilets and motion sensors on sink fixtures. The exterior of the home implements a low-volume weather-controlled drip irrigation system with a water supply supplemented by a cistern that collects rainwater and yard run-off through an inter-connected yard drain system.

Most importantly for new homebuilders and home buyers, a healthier environment begins with the environment in which you will raise your family - the indoor environment. The New American home exhibits how new homebuilders can minimize potential sources of pollutants with new venting designs and materials such as low - VOC (volatile organic compounds) products and low - formaldehyde wood products.

The result of all of this innovation is to provide homebuilders a real - time example of how comprehensive design approaches can achieve extraordinary energy efficiency in their quest for homes that have a net-zero level of electrical consumption.

There are many more and many of these innovations are already available in today's state - of - the - art new home communities you can find at www.ModelHomeTour.com and see for yourself.

*****
By Scott Coler of Capital Pacific Homes, Inc.
President, BIA Baldy View Chapter

PUBLISHED JANUARY 31, 2009

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