The market for sustainable homes is hot, with nearly sixty percent of builders now representing themselves as environmentally friendly, according to a recent survey. With this in mind, we decided to take a look at some of the house plan options out there for these buyers.
While consumers value sustainable options such as energy-efficient appliances and commuting costs that may not be reflected directly in a home's design, a lot of what makes a home green starts at the beginning, with good design. That includes features such as small footprints, use of natural light, maximized space efficiency, and energy-saving construction techniques.
Here are seven house plans designed with sustainability in mind, pulled from data provided by Hanley Wood's house plan service, the largest in the country, which publishes dozens of newsstand magazines, and includes Hanley Wood's e-commerce sites www.builderhouseplans.com and www.eplans.com.
