The time for green building has arrived; research data indicates that a major paradigm shift in the building industry is underway. This shift is being driven by builders, suppliers, and manufacturers, who have embraced the wisdom of green, as well as the conscientious consumer who’s demanding a better built home.  Across the nation, a more broad move to greener practices & products is taking place; so it is no surprise that 2007 is expected to be a “tipping point” year for green building.

Sage Homebuilders, a green-only builder, set out to build a Showcase home in an effort to do our part to help hasten the pace of change. What makes this home special is that it goes farther than a typical green home to include many of the latest and best green features. The home combines “hyper-eficient” construction with self generation of power. What makes it a “Near Zero” home is that it generates most of the power it needs from the sun, so it uses “near zero” energy from “the grid”.

But the “zero” aspect is only one of many green features of the home. Nearly every building practice used has been done in a greener-than-typical way, and nearly every material used to build the house is a greener-than-typical material.

In the years to come, houses like this one will become commonplace. But for now it is an exciting, cutting edge home that will serve as a valuable, tangible, tool for educating builders, homebuyers, and the general public about the potential for the homebuilding industry.