How Green is the HGTV Green Home?

Sustainable Site

Another hallmark of a green home is a beautiful outdoor environment. This means protecting and enhancing the natural beauty of the site through minimal site disturbance, controlling erosion, and beautiful landscaping.

Erosion Control – The design incorporates retaining walls, vegetated swales and other design features to reduce erosion.

Pervious Pavement– Using pavers on the driveway allows rainwater to naturally seep into the ground rather than running to the stormwater system.

Drought Resistant Landscape – Tradition engaged the landscape architecture firm of Pinckney and Associates to design a sustainable outdoor environment. Their design features native plants that are naturally drought tolerant and require less irrigation.

Herbs and Vegetables – Nothing is more sustainable than growing your own food. 2008 HGTV Green Home has a small herb and vegetable garden.

Birds and Bees – The landscape includes birdhouses and flowering plants that encourage birds and butterflies to the site. It also utilizes non-toxic pest control features to reduce toxins on site.

Limited Turf – No ones like to cut the grass. By limiting the turf around the house, the amount of time and money invested in maintenance and irrigation is reduced.

Shade Trees – Large canopy trees are planned to cast shade on the patios and driveway to reduce heat build-up on site.

Water Efficiency

2008 HGTV Green Home includes design features that will reduce the overall water consumption by 40% over a conventional home. This not only reduces the utility bill, but reduces the community’s total demand for clean water.

Water Reuse – Tradition as a community collects stormwater from streets and stores it in a network of retention ponds. This water is then reused for irrigating of lawns throughout the community.

Water efficient fixtures – Using low-flow toilets reduce water usage while maintaining water pressure. Aerators on sinks and showers are added reduce water flow.

Water efficient irrigation – Using drought-tolerant and native plants reduces the need for irrigation and fertilization. The irrigation system features a rain sensor that automatically restricts the system during wet weather. The system also uses high efficiency heads that direct the proper volume of water exactly where it’s needed.

Rainwater Harvesting – 2008 HGTV Green Home collects rainwater from the roof into an underground cistern. The rain water is filtered and use in the toilets to convey sewage.