Builder

BUILDER 63

7 /Water
Whole-home water
filtration reduces
chemicals and heavy
metals.

8 /Countertops
Choose Greenguard-
certified surfacing
products.

9 /Flooring

Hard-surface floors

don’t trap dirt, dust, and

contaminants and are

easier to clean.

Dodge Data & Analytics survey found that most consumers don’t

understand how their home can impact their health.

Instead of bombarding potential buyers with technical jargon and

health information, Head advises sales agents to fold health into

conversations about green certifications and energy efficiency.

Consumers are familiar with those topics, and they believe energy-

efficient homes are healthier because they have fewer drafts and

leaks—meaning less mold and better indoor air.

“When you break a new-home purchase decision into its pieces

through conjoint analysis, a special indoor air system isn’t one of the

strongest drivers,” Head says. “But it, along with green home certifica-

tions, strongly impacts price elasticity.”

At Meritage, it took a while for the sales staff to get comfortable

talking about a home’s health-based benefits. Herro says sales

agents tried to sell healthy homes like they sold energy efficiency

and found it wasn’t effective. After all, he says, a family’s long-term

health can’t be quantified in dollars and cents like energy-saving

features can. Salespeople—and potential buyers—were intimidated

by jargon like MERV (maximum efficiency rating value) air filters

and low-VOC (volatile organic compound) materials, and they

pushed healthy features rather than overall quality-of-life benefits

from the house as a whole. The sales team now focuses on “remind-

ing consumers that they can and should have a better functioning

home than they’ve had,” Herro says.

★

SIMPLE STEPS

Building scientists say designing and constructing healthy homes

involves a few simple principles: plentiful fresh air, nontoxic or low-

toxic building materials, and moisture control. The first thing builders

can do to mitigate indoor air problems is ask manufacturers what is in

their products. Product certifications like Greenguard, Cradle to

Cradle and the International Living Future Institute’s Declare label

(see “For More Info,” next page) make sorting through product options

easier than it’s ever been.

Flashing and airsealing is critical as well. If exterior water is find-

ing its way into a home via leaky windows and roofs, it cannot be

considered a healthy home. The contrary can be true, too: Well-sealed

buildings can trap in toxic chemicals, mold, pollen, and other irritants

so installing a balanced ventilation system with MERV filtration is

critical for superior comfort and air quality. Make sure your HVAC

contractor distributes it throughout the home to ensure that fresh air

gets to important but hard-to-reach places like above beds.

To protect against deadly vapors, install carbon monoxide detectors

on every floor and within 15 feet from all bedrooms and place a radon

vent below the basement slab that vents through the roof.

Other considerations include whole-home water filtration and

hypoallergenic, cleanable surfaces. The EPA Indoor airPLUS guide-

lines require hard-surface flooring in kitchens, bathrooms, and entry-

ways because they’re easier to clean. Soft surfaces trap dirt, dust, and

contaminants that can trigger respiratory issues.