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A well-planned, high performance home costs less to operate-and as importantly, high performance is the promise of a premium resale value.

Sustainable componets include energy-efficient heating, lighting, cooling and water systems, as well as the reduction of natural resources like wood.  Use this checklist as a preliminary guide for both you and your builder:

Location: Build for lifestyle convience where you can walk, cycle or take public transit.

Position: Consider north-south positioning to maximize use of the sun's energy and heat.

Walls:  Built with concrete>  An award-winning wall system, advanced by Nudura, builds with pre-assembled forms, each one stacked, reinforced, and then filled with concrete.  Once locked together (like Lego) the system creates a solid, monolithic concrete wall.  This method (www.nudura.com) has shown to deliver energy savings of up to 70 percent and delivers a building envelope up to three times more sound resistant, four time more fire resistant, , and nine times stronger.

Materials: Premium green choices should include low-and zero-VOC (volatile organic compound) paints and sealants, plus high-performance windows, roofing and flooring.

Landscaping: Design your gardens for low use of water and pesticides.  Plan with drought-resistant native plants, perennial groundcovers, plus flowers and shady canopy trees.