by J M K

Created on: March 11, 2009

Every year HGTV gives away a multi-million dollar dream home and in 2008 HGTV added a green home to the prize. Despite the recession, HGTV is following the call to conserve and is giving away another green home in 2009.

The popular home and garden television network will document the construction of the energy efficient house on HGTV. A blog detailing the green construction process will be available at www.hgtvpro.com. In May, HGTV will give the green house away to one lucky viewer. The sweepstakes will open some time in March. To enter the sweepstakes or check the progress of the construction, visit http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/green_home.

HGTV is currently building the green home. The TV network started in November by picking the location. The Home and Garden network choose the mixed-use community of St. Lucie, Florida. The family-friendly community is conscience of energy consumption. The HGTV green home was built using basic green building standards. In January, HGTV completed most of construction. The crew installed sun powered solar panels and a wind generator to make use of alternate sources of energy. Most of the eco-friendly products the HGTV crew used to build the green home are available for purchase at http://marketplace.hgtvpro.com/.

In late January the crew began to work on the home's eco-friendly interior. The house has studs made of durable recycled metal. The crew used spray foam insulation to make sure the house has minimal heat or air-conditioning loss. Although, this author believes, that recycled denim installation would be more ecologically aware. All of the lights in the HGTV green home will be compact fluorescent. The crew also used CPVC piping instead of traditional copper piping so less energy is needed to regulate water temperatures.

The HGTC green home is considered ecologically aware. The ecologically aware standards are as follows. 1. Select an environmentally friendly site-, such as a site with little trees to clear and orient the house towards the sun for natural heat. 2. Use energy efficient designs and build in a manner to prevent HVAC loss. 3. Use low-flow fixtures to reduce the home's water consumption. 4. Use fresh air ventilation to promote a healthy indoor environment. 5. Emphasize material conservation and waste reduction while using sustainable products in construction and design.

When planning a home, architects, designers, and homebuyers should follow the energy efficient example set by the 2008 and 2009 HGTV green homes. HGTV put LEED standards into action and gave us a brilliant example of an environmentally-friendly habitat. LEED is a program that applies a rating scale to building projects to determine how energy efficient the finished product will be. To register a building project or learn more about LEED standards visit www.usgbc.org/leed. Following LEED standards is important for the environment and can also save home-owners money.

HGTV is finishing the building of the 2009 Green Home. Visit the links below to stay updated on their progress, find out the show schedule, and enter the sweepstakes.

Sources:
2009 HGTV Green Home http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/green_home
Energy Star http://www.energystar.gov
HGTV Marketplace http://marketplace.hgtvpro.com/
HGTV Pro http://www.hgtvpro.com
US Green Building Council, LEED http://www.usgbc

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