How Green Remodeling Can Help Sell Your Home

It's a tough time to sell a house. But, if you really need to sell your house, you can gain a leg up by making smart and quick upgrades. Here are ways to make your house stand out from the rest by going green:

Wow Buyers with Energy Efficiency

Home utility bills have seen double-digit growth in the past few years, spurred by record-high oil and gas prices and water shortages. That means if your home enjoys lower utility bills than other homes, it’ll attract more potential homebuyers.

The key is to make improvements to your home's energy efficiency, and document how the monthly bills change over time. Highlight the savings to your broker and any potential buyers, and provide comparisons to typical bills for similar-sized houses in your region (call your utility for details or visit the Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration at eia.doe.gov).

The next step is to upgrade any old or questionable appliances with new Energy Star-certified models. There is a definite payoff with Energy Star, for instance, lighting accounts for 20% of home energy use and replacing existing light bulbs with CFLs (compact fluorescents) will use only a quarter of the electricity as regular bulbs .

Insulation Can Be a Selling Point

Using an insulation and air barrier material can deliver energy performance, comfortable living and a durable home in just one step. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, air leakage accounts for 40% of energy loss in buildings. When a home isn't leaking energy, it takes less effort to heat and cool. That means you could reduce the size and cost of your heating and cooling equipment. To calculate how much heating/cooling costs you could save with an insulation / air barrier that minimizes air leakage better than conventional insulation, click here –this Energy Savings Estimator  will provide results based on your location (type of climate) and type of home (i.e., square footage).

Going Healthy Sells

Another potentially untapped market is to capitalize on making your home as healthy a living space as possible. There are many people with allergies, asthma, or chemical sensitivities who consider healthier indoor air quality a necessity. In addition, more and more people are interested in cutting down on their exposure to Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and using products that do not off gas in the indoor environment. For instance, Icynene^® is 100% water-blown and does not use Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). HFCs are used as blowing agents in some polyurethane insulation and are considered to have a high Global Warming Potential; negatively impacting climate change.

Icynene^® insulation is also free from Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). Several studies have raised concerns over PBDEs’ impact on building occupant health. PBDEs are used as flame retardants in some building products.

Small Steps Add Up

Icynene^® helps your home remodeling projects qualify for national green certifications such as the EPA's Energy Star for homes and the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED for Homes .

By going green with taking small steps towards energy efficient upgrades, for instance, you can also qualify for federal, state or local tax credits. Manufacturer's Certification Statement is required to qualify for the certain credits.  Click here for a copy of Icynene's Manufacturer's Certification Statement.