Scientists say their process would work well in rainy outdoor environments where solar energy is lacking.

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One of the latest trends in homebuilding is the creation of entire neighborhoods or communities of green, energy-efficient homes. The premise behind these energy-efficient communities, which are springing up all over the country, is simple: there’s power in numbers – or, rather, a greater opportunity to reduce energy consumption and improve resource management when dozens, or perhaps hundreds, of homes in a neighborhood incorporate eco-friendly building materials, renewable energy sources and energy-efficient lighting, appliances and heating and cooling systems.

Many of these communities are so new that ground has barely been broken, or at most a few homes have been built. Depending on their location, they focus on different factors and use different approaches to conserve energy. But they all have a common goal – to create communities that are not only green and efficient but livable as well, often by encouraging walking rather than driving, and locating parks, common areas, shops and offices right in the neighborhoods.

To get a feel for the diversity of these innovative communities, we focused on four located in different regions of the country: Withers Preserve in South Carolina, Mountainside Village in Idaho, The Farm West of Krum in Texas and Avignon in California.

Withers Preserve
Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Myrtle Beach has long been known for its greens – golf greens, that is (the coastal city is home to nearly 100 golf courses) – but not so much for greenbuilding. That’s about the change, however, with the construction of Withers Preserve, an energy-efficient community that has partnered with GE’s new Ecomagination Homebuilder Program.

Read the entire Withers Preserve overview at:
http://www.smart-homeowner.com/articles/9769/1

Features:

• Ecomagination initiative standards
• recycled Air Force base
• renewable sources of energy
• solar power efficiency
• stormwater collection system

Mountainside Village
Victor, Idaho

Nestled in southeastern Idaho in the shadow of the Teton mountain range and just across the state line from Grand Teton National Park and Jackson Hole, Wyo., is Mountainside Village, a new environmentally conscious community. Much like Withers Preserve in several respects, the community is designed to discourage the use of cars and promote walking, biking, hiking and the like.

Read the entire Mountainside Village overview at:
http://www.smart-homeowner.com/articles/9769/1

Features:

• protected solar access
• windows that harvest the suns energy
• U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED-H
• storm-water harvesting
• Energy Star lighting package

The Farm West of Krum
Krum, Texas

Located 36 miles northwest of Dallas, The Farm West of Krum is a development of 20 homes that combine luxury living with energy efficiency as well as health and safety features. Among those safety features is a storm-safe/fire-safe room located in the master closet of every home.

Read the entire Farm West overview at:
http://www.smart-homeowner.com/articles/9769/1

Features:

• insulated concrete forms
• roof-mounted wind turbines
• geothermal heating and cooling
• Trane CleanEffects HVAC system

Avignon
Pleasanton, Calif.

Energy efficiency is going mainstream in Avignon, a neighborhood of 30 homes in Pleasanton, Calif., about 25 miles east of Oakland. The homes, built by Dallas-based Centex, range in size from 3,671 to 4,035 square feet, and each is designed to save energy and utilize green products.

Read the entire Avignon overview at:
http://www.smart-homeowner.com/articles/9769/1

Features:

• Build It Green’s "Green Point Rated" program
• sustainable lumber
• CertainTeed’s Optima blow-in fiberglass
• PowerLight photovoltaic system
• Rinnai Tankless water heater