Nelson Homes pushing 'green'

In todays economy, people are trying to save some green by going green. Rob Rutherford, the president and co-owner of Nelson Homes, located in Arrington, is trying to help his clients do that by offering numerous options to become more energy efficient.

Each of the homes available through Nelson Homes is energy-star certified, a government-backed certification promoting energy efficiency. In order to be certified energy star, the home must be 20 to 30 percent more efficient than a standard home. Some of the things Rutherford offers in addition to the standard energy star appliances and better insulation are geothermal and solar technology.

Were trying to set ourselves apart in the industry, Rutherford said. We want to be the energy experts.

Nelson Homes, a 15-employee operation, sells different types of homes, but specializes in modular homes. The average Nelson Homes home sells between $180,000 and $220,000, including the installation. Nelson Homes has sold more than 400 homes around Virginia since it opened in late 2000. Four other companies branched out of Nelson Homes and include another sale site in Rustburg.

Rutherford committed to being an energy star home builder in 2007. This year, he committed to being a 100 percent energy star home builder.

Since 2007, Nelson Homes has built 39 Energy Star homes, 22 of them in the Lynchburg area with 21 certified in the past 12 months, the most for the area. The next highest is Long Meadows Inc. with 19 total homes, 16 of which are in Lynchburg and three of which were certified in the past 12 months.

One of the things Nelson Homes focuses on is improving the insulation to help keep heating and cooling costs low. Some of their methods are draft-stopping caulk and foam, a wrapped crawl space to prevent heat transfer in and out of the home through the floor, and thicker walls. The walls are made with two-by-six framing, instead of the usual two-by-four.

A tight, well insulated house thats the biggest bang for the buck, he said. About 29 percent of an annual energy bill for a single home is spent on heating and 17 percent on cooling, which are both affected by a homes insulation, Rutherford said.

Alternative technology, like solar electric panels to harvest and store electricity and solar thermal to heat water, are also available to lower energy costs.

People can also install geothermal technology, something Nelson Homes has recently begun pushing. Geothermal systems use consistent underground temperatures to help heat and cool a house. Geothermal usually saves between 40 to 70 percent on home heating and 20 to 50 percent on home cooling, according to Nelson Homes website.

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Nelson Homes pushing 'green'