Luxury Home Magazine

PacificLuxuryLiving.com 44 | Featured Properties Conscious Building & Beyond Cont. the land’s natural amenities. With energy costs always high Hawaii, designers and builders are conscious to position homes away from the incubating sun and to utilize the natural trade winds, reducing the need for costly and noisy air conditioning. Every day there are new efficient developments for the electrical systems in your home such as heating, cooling and lighting. Now, builders use metal roofs to reflect sunlight and keep a house cool, specific siding on the east side of a home to absorb heat, and solar heating to create hot water and heat a house. Hot water recycling systems can also be installed to effectively conserve water and energy. For lighting, OLEDs - Organic Light Emitting Diodes are now available and much thinner than traditional LED lights. If you’re pleased with the general efficiency and use of your home but want to make an effective improvement during a remodel, look for a few of the following products to ensure quality, sustainability and a good return on investment: the Chilipepper water-saving system; recycled Oceanside Glasstile; Energy Star and Sub-Zero/Wolf efficient appliances; and renewable Bamboo products. Regardless of the need for conservation, the consumer industry is still driven by the bottom line. Most people are happy to contribute by purchasing eco-friendly products – as long as they are still affordable. In addition to sustainable products being of the utmost quality, they have an outstanding Return on Investment (ROI). So, con- scious companies help ensure that not only will a home be cheaper to operate from the very beginning, but if you choose to sell, the home will have more value. Although every area of daily life influences the impact we have on this earth, changing building practices for the future has a substantial impact on this world. Society is responsible for, and is making a concerted effort to prolong and improve the quality of life on this planet. So when choosing your next luxury home, updating your current residence, or finding the best professional for a new project job, consider the ecological impact, energy efficiency, and return on investment. Then, go back to the same beach where you escaped reality and relish in the knowledge that you contributed to keeping the peace and beauty intact for future generations to enjoy. L uxury L iving P A C I F I C ™ Jixiong Zhu ~ Designed by the homeowner to be as efficient as possible, this Makiki Heights residence takes full advantage of Hawaii’s cooling sea breezes. At 650 feet above sea level this home is perched perfectly to utilize the trade winds and eliminate the need for air conditioning all together. Uniquely, this was not only an efficiency and cost issue, it was also for style. The home was designed to mimic a 1920s summer retreat home, when air conditioning wasn’t even an option - only ceiling fans which still offer extra cooling. The double-paned energy efficient windows can be left open even during the heat and rain because of the long over hang and shake tiled roof, which reflects the elements. In addition to a bevy of other understated eco-conscious additions to the home, the basic structure itself was sustainable in that it was made entirely out of steel. No trees were used to build the majority of the home and the little wood that was used, was treated with an “eco-smart” oil. (See Page 24)