It’s Monday. Blah.
What better way to cure a nasty case of the Mondays than to win a $700,000 LEED Platinum certified home?
Yeah, I think that’ll work. HGTV began their Green Home 2009 Sweepstakes on April 17th and you can enter to win every day until June 5th.
Let’s check out what makes this home so green…AND where it terribly misses the mark!
The HGTV 2009 Green Home is located in Port St. Lucie, Florida.
Soooo, I guess that means if you win you’re moving to Florida? I’ve never understood why HGTV does that on their home giveaway contests.
What Makes the Home So Green?
At 2,430 square feet, it will definitely NOT be considered a “green mega-mansion“…but that’s actually more responsible anyway.
Other than the generous yet realistic square footage, the 2009 HGTV Green Home has:
- Solar electric panels
- Solar water heating
- Energy efficient EVERYTHING
- Low-flow shower heads, appliacnes, and faucets
- Low-VOC paints and adhesives
- Insulating Concrete Form (ICF) walls
- Spray foam roof insulation
- Low-E windows
- Organic fabrics everywhere
- Lots of items made from recycled and repurposed materials
- Roof-top vegetable and herb garden
- Permeable pavers outside
- Rain barrels (which are easy to make yourself) & a composter
- etc, etc, etc…
In addition to all that, Jetson Green says the Spanish-style design will provide some good overhangs for friendly summer shade.
Where is the Epic Green Fail?
It has nothing to do with the house itself…it’s what comes with the house.
Seriously? SERIOUSLY?
That thing is only EPA [over]rated at 21 mpg in the city and 22 mpg on the highway.
Wow. That’s about as bad as the hybrid SUV HGTV gave away in last year’s Green Home Contest.
If you’re going to buy an SUV anyway then sure, make the more responsible choice to at least buy a hybrid one, like one of the guys I interviewed during Earth Hour in Nashville, TN did (it’s the 2nd video in that post).
But if you’re going to be giving a vehicle away with a LEED Platinum certified home, then seriously, give away a vehicle that’s actually efficient.
That said, it’s not gonna stop me from entering every day myself, muah ha ha.
Would it stop you? If you won, would you be willing to up and move to Florida?
I think every little step toward living green is an awesome one… but eco-snobbery sucks! My goal is to help newbies learn the most important steps toward living green — individually and collectively. Personally, I strive to have as little impact as possible on Planet Earth while I'm here.
