hey y'all. So my husband and I are now empty nesters. The kids are all out of the house and only one is still in school. We are ready to downsize and want to do it right, meaning green. We want a house that saves us money and makes us feel good about our impact on the environment.

We have done some reading but want some advice before we go find a builder/architect.

Should we build at all? Or buy an existing home and fix it up?
Should we use solar, geothermal, wind power for energy or just buy the green option from the power company?
What do you consider the most important approach to a green home?

I don't want to ask too much here. I have more questions and I will get to them later.

Resource-wise, I would say that you want to buy an existing home, maybe one that needs a little work (or much more work) and use this as your foundation for going green in your home. As far as energy, the answer is yes. All three of the options you mentioned are viable and a combination can be beneficial. For water heating, geothermal works well as does a solar water heater (doesn't work so well at night though). For power, there is a symbiosis between sun and wind. In areas where the wind blows hard enough and the sun shines, there is often a situation where the sun can add power by day and the higher night winds do the same at night.

As far as finding a professional. You can always fumble around blindly and try to call all the architects in the phone book, but this could lead you astray as in this market many inexperienced architects will boast about their talents to get work, even if they don't have substantial experience with green homes. I would do a more refined search. Start by finding any green homes in a 50 mile radius from where you want to live, find out who the architect/builder was and contact them. Also check with your local chapter of the USGBC or AIA. These would be good resources for anyone looking to build.

Once you have some people of interest, interview them and find out exactly what they know about your type of project and how interested they are not in working for you but in creating this sustainable dream of yours.

"most important approach"? That's a tougher one. What you want to do is take a very broad brush at first and try to understand the whole energy picture. Not just how much energy the house will use once its finished, but how many resources and how much energy it will take to build the home in the first place. Look at the waste streams as well as the supply lines. As your project progresses, you should start to get into more and more details. If you go for the details first you could miss the big picture, miss some opportunities or worst of all, create a home you aren't happy with.

Thank you Bob, that was very helpful. As far as this symbiosis thing. I don't think I can afford two systems (solar and wind). Should I choose a system based on cost or on the amount of energy it can produce. I think I can do the solar thing, but I don't know if it will pay itself back. How do I find information about wind and the feasibility of a wind turbine in my area?

I am really sorry for all the questions, but I just am lost.

I think you should seriously consider staying in the home you have. Adapt it to your new life rather than tossing it out like some used facial tissue. I don't know how long you have spent in the house and maybe staying there isn't the best option, but too often people see change in their lives and think they have to throw away everything to define the new life they are living.

What happens when the kids want to come and spend the night, maybe even with their families. This home might not be so bad for you.

We have been in this house for 35 years. I think we have put enough money into it to justify staying but we have enough equity to get something smaller and build up some liquid asset security. I would love to stay here and if we could find a way to stay that isn't a financial burden and green at the same time, I would be all for it.

We really hadn't considered staying so now my decisions are even harder.