I will be the first person to admit that I am by no stretch of the imagination a "tree hugging type." I drive a midsized sedan and my wife an SUV. Only half of our light bulbs are cfl's because I honestly like the look of regular lightbulbs in some fixtures better. Some of the produce my family buys is not organic. I even use pesticides to get rid of weeds and fertilizer to make my grass green (some say I should not even have grass in AZ, but where would my dog do her business....right?).
Still, I am a nerd when it comes to learning about new technologies, especially green building. On last weeks This Old House they mentioned the fact that the house was heated and cooled with geothermal energy. I sat through a whole episode on Discovery Science called Ecotech to learn about new ways of making solar power cheaper, the potential of hydrogen powered cars, building using passive solar, etc.
If you have made it this far into my post you are probably wondering what this has to do with Mexico Real Estate. Well, it is interesting to note that some of the greenest construction is occuring South of our border. I have been amazed that so many of the properties I encounter while financing homes in Mexico are "off grid." Let me give you an example of some of the properties being constructed in San Felipe, BCN. Many of these homes were built with panelized styrofoam walls that are covered in shotcrete (I hope I am getting the term right) and have an R-value that is more than twice that of a typical US home, greatly reducing the power needed to heat and cool them. The builders of these homes also claim that these homes are build stronger than traditional methods, quicker and with less waste. Often the homes use "gray water" collected to irrigate the drought friendly landscaping on site. Solar panels are typical, since it is expensive to send electricity in and efficient natural gas powered back-up generators produce the remaining power. In this case, a lack of lumber prompted builders to use highly efficient panelized construction and a lack of utilities created the need for recycled water and solar power.
Another example I want to mention is a developer friend of mine who is building an adobe development using green methods (solar, passive solar design, etc.). An advantage to adobe is that it retains heat in the winter and insulates well in order to keep homes cool in the summer time. It is also a very durable material. In some areas of Mexico, Adobe structures are hundreds of years old and have held up well to the elements. It is also locally produced. He is training a local crew to manufacture the bricks on site from local ingredients. His example shows how a cheaper labor pool can both produce and lay bricks in a cost efficient manner that is actually slightly less expensive than other building methods. I doubt a similar project could be produced in the US, but it is neat to see what he is trying to accomplish in Mexico. He has not even begun to officially market the project, yet there is already a pretty big interest among US buyers. They love the old World charm of adobe along with the energy efficent characteristics.
I realize that the US makes it more difficult to do some of these things. Local building codes, strong unions, stuborn contractors, expensive labor and a variety of other factors may not make them viable. I am not saying that we are behind in the US or that Mexico is better for doing this. I am merely stating that it is great to see that in some areas of Mexico green construction methods are utilized. Maybe we will see similar transformations here in the US.
;)
;)
