Green Mansions - a growing trend?

It seems there is good news out there for the luxury custom home designers who are also environmentally conscious. There is a growing trend among buyers of new luxury homes to include sustainable features into the homes they are building.

I just read an article on CNNMoney.com about the emergence of luxury homes utilizing sustainable design and building practices.

The article highlights many of the beautiful ways green can be built into a home, without sacrificing any of the details, quality or style traditionally put into custom homes. We regularly use reclaimed wood, recycled glass tiles, low-energy appliances and low-water plumbing fixtures, etc. In the Valley of the Sun (as Phoenix is known), solar is a no-brainer that we haven't fully taken advantage of yet - but it is growing. Using "gray water" (recycling dirty water from showers/sinks to flush toilets and water landscaping) is also a great practice we should be doing more of here in the desert.

Our firm bases our practice on making wealthy homeowners aware of the options and opportunities to incorporate eco-friendly materials into their new homes. It is one way of reducing the impact we have on the environment, while providing our clients with the luxury and amenities they want in their homes.

Read the entire article here -
Live the good life in a green mansion
As demand grows, multi-million mansions that are both indulgent and eco-friendly emerge.

Array Development to have Solar Power

Modus Development is including solar panels on each of the town homes in their new Array townhouse development in south Scottsdale. The townhouses will meet LEED standards, and be some of the first to meet Scottsdale's new Green Building Standards. It's great to see builders, developers, and architects working to create modern dwellings that are environmentally conscious, offer great amenities and give people the opportunity to lower their carbon footprint in an easy way.
Solar energy needs to be utilized better, especially here in Arizona, where we have 300+ days of sunshine every year. It's really a no-brainer, and I don't know why people haven't jumped on this bandwagon sooner. With the introduction of pre-installed, standard solar panels on homes for the average person, maybe we'll see more and more people taking advantage of clean, cheap energy. I'm personally excited about the possibilities, and hope more builders follow suit in their housing communities.

"The conservation of natural resources is the fundamental problem. Unless we solve that problem it will avail us little to solve all others."
--Theodore Roosevelt