What makes a "green home"

The green house next door

Aug 20, 2011 - From the curb, it looks like thousands of homes scattered across the Carolinas, with a welcoming porch, mullioned windows, neutral paint and room in the garage for Mom's SUV and Dad's sedan. You wouldn't guess that the two-story just built on a Durham cul-de-sac was designed to be kind to the planet and to the pocketbook.

Built by NCGreenBuild, the home is a textbook example of green construction - designed to be stingy on energy and water use and provide clean air indoors. Outdoors, drought-tolerant landscaping needs little water and will help keep runoff out of the city's stormwater system.

Steve Frasher, co-owner and manager of NCGreenBuild, talked with features editor Carole Tanzer Miller about the energy-saving aspects of the home, which recently received the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED certification. This is an edited transcript. read more>>>