My wife and I retired this year and wish to move from Arizona to WNC.  We recently started watching the new PlanetGreen channel and became intrigued.  At first, we were just going to buy an existing house somewhere near Brevard (or Hendersonville or Maggie Valley or Asheville...) but now, perhaps, we might explore building a green home.

The questions arise, however:  how is WNC for things like solar or wind?  Arizona has been great for solar, not so much for wind in the Phoenix area, but up on the rim country it is.

What issues are peculiar to WNC that need to be addressed?  I imagine mold, radon, and moisture are issues of importance: what else?

What are the best green building materials for WNC?  I admit to being ignorant - just beginning my exploration of this concept.  I would imagine that a home built with N/S exposure, lots of windows appropriately placed, a full basement, etc. would be energy efficient.  The compromise between saving energy for heating and cooling and using materials like trees (wood) should be balanced, should it not?

Finally, is anyone even building this way yet or is the concept too new?  The very fact that there is a WNC Green Building web site is encouraging.  But new things often cost much more.  Trying to get solar energy installed in Arizona is expensive, even though we have sunshine 300+ days of the year!

I will be curious to follow this forum over the next few months.  It may influence our decision when we move to WNC.

You are going to LOVE WNC!
From where in AZ are you coming?

From my perspective (which continues to get educated) the primary renewable in this area is solar.  Wind is not steady enough in most places to merit the investment.  Sundance Power can better answer this question… I will pass on your query and see if I can find out more specifically the details on Solar in the area.

Location is certainly important, but most locations in this region are going to be subject to similar weather conditions.  We live in a mixed-humid climate (see http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/residential/mixed_humid.html)

Building a new home in WNC with efficiency, durability, comfort and health in mind you want to understand the following:
+ Advanced Framing Techniques
+ Foundations/Crawlspaces and moisture control in these spaces.  If its a crawlspace you will want to seal it and control the airflow in that space.
+ Insulation, Spray Polyurethane Foam (SPF) is the best product on the market and you will find a number of installers here in WNC.
+ HVAC system, with specific consideration on ventilation, especially using good air sealing practices (like SPF insulation)

WNC is home to 30+ year old green building manufacturer Deltec (http://www.deltechomes.com)
EcoBuilders is also a local builder to WNC and is sought out as a consultant across the country (http://www.theecobuilders.com).
It is not a new concept to the area… with the Green Building Council and a strong building market we are well seasoned.

I hope this information helps.

Brett A McCall
Project Manager w/ BuildSmart
http://www.buildsmartnc.com
828.275.6407

Wow!  Thank you Brett.  That is great information!

We are in Mesa, AZ outside of Phoenix. 320 sunny days a year and solar here is prohibitively expensive.  Go figure.  The big sellers of electricity do NOT want individual homes to be self-sufficient!

Right now, the market is horrible and we cannot get even a bad offer for our house.  But once it does sell, we will head fast to WNC and rent until we decide whether to build or buy - and where.  Right now we have a very large window of interest from Asheville to Maggie Valley to Sylva to Brevard to Hendersonville.  We are less inclined to be further west where the rain is in the 70-90 inches a year range and we are also not looking for the highest elevations where snow could be an issue more than occasionally.

We have done our homework, researching for over 3 years and visiting the area in person and we DO love WNC!

Now to find a buyer…

I wish I could help you find a buyer.. actually my little brother is in a similar situation trying to sell his house in Tucson!!

Anyhow, please keep me posted and let me know if there is information I can provide.

All the best,

Brett A McCall
Building Performance Project Manager
BuildSmart(sm) with Deltec Homes
69 Bingham Road, Asheville, NC 28806
828.275.6407m
828.348.4706o

Hi,
It’s been a while since you first wrote this, but I’ve just discovered the forum and would be happy to send you regular updates on certified HealthyBuilt Homes in WNC. Let me know if you’d like that. I can set up the MLS to automatically do that, so it’s no trouble.

Yes, with the way things are going right now, it could be a very long time before your home sells, but you never know… Seeing what’s coming on the market here might be helpful. If you want to email me directly my email is . I’m a certified envirnmental real estate consultant here and I’m just happy to provide info.