With all the talk over the last decade of "saving the environment" and curbing global warning the concept is now catching on with homeowners when looking to build or upgrade existing homes.  The idea of recycling and being super Eco-friendly is not just for the so called Hippies and "Environmentalists" anymore.  The public has taken to this issue a bit more in the last few years with the help of Al Gore and other high profile figures giving warning after warning that something has to be done.

Now Eco-friendly housing trends are weighing in with a lot of builders and home buyers as well as existing home owners upgrading to the energy saving and earth friendly alternatives.  A lot of these changes can be more expensive up front, but over the long run you will save money and also help keep the earth LIVABLE for our offspring.  Some of the new trends are irrigation systems that adjust their schedules to water only when needed according the weather reports.  Using nontoxic paint, reclaimed wood counter-tops and induction cook-tops are concepts being used.  Geothermal heating and cooling is a more expensive concept which uses the earth as a heat exchanger, but will cut down on your bill over time.  A not so new concept, but very accurate and efficient is solar orientation.  Building the home facing a certain direction depending where you are to take advantage of the sun and certain wind conditions..... and also using Low-Emittance windows helps conserve.  There are many many other ways to help conserve and protect our environment and using your home to help is becoming more and more common.  Who knows....maybe 20 years from now these things will be standard features in a new home; but until then we all have a choice to upgrade.  For more information on how you can make your home more Eco-friendly click here for my information.  Hope this helps....