What do green home buyers look for in a choosing a house in 2010? These trends show just how more sophisticated that eco-house market is becoming.

Here are 7 things that makes an eco-home attractive to buyers.

1. Energy efficiency. This sort of defines the eco-home itself. People are looking for houses that have good thermal isolation, LED lightings, efficient windows to capture as much natural light and heat as possible.

2. Renewable energy. The basic is the solar water heater. This alone is known to reduce 30-40% of a home’s electric bill and not only save residents money but reduce their carbon footprint. Other popular renewable energy appliances include wind turbines and solar panels.

3. Solar tubes. These are real neat inventions. They are pipes that runs from the roof of the house to any room or dark closet you want. The tubes bring natural daylight inside and literally eliminate the need for daytime lights ever being used.

4. Smaller rather than bigger. The new eco-trends mandate as little waste as possible. People are looking for homes that fit their needs and nothing more. All extra rooms, wings, etc, that are to be never or rarely used would rather be excluded altogether. This ties back to energy efficiency. Smaller houses are easier and cheaper to power.

5. Fireplaces might be charming but are not eco-friendly and thus a no-no. You can still get the home fire going if you use gas instead of organic matter. The newest fireplaces require no gas hookup and instead rely on clean-burning denatured ethanol.

6. Hard surface floors such as concrete, stone, cork, natural linoleum, bamboo, and wood are a must. People are shying away from carpet which contain chemicals, house bugs and are difficult to clean.

7. Location. Mainly walking distance to parks, shopping areas, schools, etc. Biking and walking are not surprisingly preferred to driving to your daily destinations.

(Article adapted from  Technorati)

Penny Sheriff from Newville, PA, thought it would be cheaper if she used propane gas for heating. She was wrong.

The woman was shocked when she received her most recent bill from her propane company. They charged her $800 at a rate of $6 a gallon! It turns out, the company charged her double what the average price for  Newville, PA is.

“There are some companies that are only charging $2.35 a gallon for propane,” Sheriff said.  “And I used this propanepartly to heat my house to save on the electric that is going up.”

As abc27 News reports, there is no regulation on how much companies can charge for the gas. The government puts a mandatory price cap only in the case of declared emergencies. Therefore, it is up to the consumer to shop around for the best deal and watch out for changes in the terms of usage.

How much higher will electricity go? I wonder if other energy companies will try to take advantage of people looking for alternatives to electricity.

It’s hard to believe this is America in 2010. Communities throughout find that heating their homes with electricity or gas is just too expensive. By switching to old-fashioned firewood, families are saving up to 40% off their energy bill.

“Electric is so high and you can’t go out and try to get a propane furnace or something and the gas is extremely high,” said Dan Stadtfeld from Shenandoah, VA. When it was time to remodel his house, Dan decided to go with old-fashioned wood. This will save his family about $80 per month.

In two Virginia counties, Page and Rockingham, a project is underway to donate wood to 21 families this winter. Volunteers are gathering wood and downed trees to help those for whom heat from electricity is now something like a 21st century luxury.

For full story, read WHSV.com

Starting January 1st, 2010, a new law requires that every new home built in Hawaii must have a solar water heater built in.

It’s known as the “solar roof” law and it’s meant to not only reduce pollution but shrink down consumers’ electric bills.

According to the Blue Planet Foundation, the new law will help residents of Hawaii reduce their electric bill by 30-40% for an average of $750 in savings per year. These calculations are based on the current oil prices, which drive the price of electricity itself. According to energy experts, however, oil prices will more than double in the next two years which means that the savings to solar homeowners will be even greater.

Hawaii is entering the new decade with a goal of becoming completely energy independent and a model state for the world.

For full story, read The Honolulu Advertiser.

On New Year’s Eve, just three and a half hours before midnight, a rural electric cooperative from North Dakota made history.

They completed the largest wind project in the U.S. that is entirely owned by consumers. And they did it in just four months!

The project cost $240 million and will deliver clean energy to about 2.8 million consumers in nine states. By the end of 2010, the wind farm is anticipated to produce about 20% of Basin Electric’s members’ needs.

The Nardex N60 turbines chosen for the project have 3-blades and their maximum capacity is 1.3 MW at 33mph. The rotor speed is 12.7-19 rpm. They are about 200 feet high at the hub with blades 200 feet in diameter (100-feet long each). Each weights 154 tons.

To see daily energy production graphs undated just a few hours ago on a daily basis, click here. The username and password are both “wind”.

(source: www.BasinElectric.com and CleanTechnica.com

How much do you pay every month? Add a comment with your average bill and the square ft of your home. As you see, this data is from 2005. I think are a long way from these numbers now.