'Green' Demand Driving Home Technology

SHARE This undated photo provided by Solatube International shows the Solatube Tubular Daylighting System...
This undated photo provided by Solatube International shows the Solatube Tubular Daylighting System installed in a bathroom. The Solatube Tubular Daylighting System is a dome that installs on the roof and uses reflective surfaces inside to guide daylight into a home, even at a 90-degree angle, something a traditional skylight can't do. (AP Photo/Solatube International)
(AP)Robert Mechielsen's designs for environmentally friendly homes often include cutting edge features such as high-efficiency heating and cooling systems and solar panels to convert sunshine into electricity.
But he's only half joking when he says many of the best green home solutions available to homeowners hail from the 18th century, such as installing awnings to keep a home cooler.
"There's also a very advanced way of using wind technology — it's drying your clothes outside," quips Mechielsen, founder of Studio RMA in Los Angeles.
With environmental consciousness at an all-time high, homeowners searching for Earth-friendly ideas don't have to settle for such rustic measures. Manufacturers and retailers looking to cash in on the green movement are rolling out green home building and remodeling products and demand is helping to drive down costs, experts say.
Market research by McGraw-Hill Construction earlier this year projects the residential green building market will have annual sales between $12 billion and $20 billion this year. That would represent between 6 percent and 10 percent, respectively, of the overall homebuilding market.
The firm has said it expects the green building market will double by 2012.
Some of the products are based on new technology, but many are based on concepts that have been kicking around for decades with relatively few takers, such as solar water heaters.

That's changing, thanks in part to soaring energy costs.
Good thing homeowners have more options than ever — without resorting to hanging their laundry out to dry.
"It's a very dynamic time. In 10 years, there's not going to be such a thing as green building, just building," said Sarah Beatty, founder of Green Depot, New York-based Green Depot, a chain of stores in the Northeast that sells green home building products.
At the top of the list for Mechielsen is installing a souped-up version of an attic ventilator, such as the NightBreeze by David Energy Group, which electronically manages how evening air circulates into the home, lowering cooling costs.