A few days ago I posted a teaser about a Solar-Powered Hybrid Community going in on the North Side of Houston.  Just inside Montgomery County off of Riley Fuzzel to be exact. This will be the 1st of its kind in Houston.

Well, here goes!

Land Tejas (Canyon Gate Communities’s) has partnered with EcoMagination’s, a GE/Masco Program, to build a Development of Environments for Living homes.  The Community will be call Discovery at Spring Trails.  What does that mean?

As many of you know, Houston’s Real Estate Market evolves around Affordable Housing and while there are many people that may be interested in Building Green, it may not be an affordable option for everyone yet.

Environments For Living and EcoMagination is that Bridge for now. Each home in the Community will be fitted with PV (appx. 1 KW System).  Not only that, there are Technology Features in each home for the Homeowner to maintain and reduce Water Usage.   From my understanding, the community will also have a Complex Rain Water Capture System that will be used for Landscaping throughout the Development and Solar to make the Community Self Sufficient.  Thus, Solar-Powered Hybrid.   The homes are expected to be from the 170’s to the 300’s.

One of the Best parts of all of this is that they are Building a Discovery Center at the Front of the Community.  This will be a place for Potential Homebuyers or anyone else interested to go and learn about what a Green Built home is all about.  There will be a Media Center with Videos and the opportunity to see first hand what makes a Greener Home different.

This is great news for Houston!  We now have the opportunity to learn how to integrate Greener Homes in to Affordable Housing.

Homeowners that build under the Environments for Living and Ecomagination will experience Considerably Lower Electric Bills, Lower water Usage, and Healthier Products being used in the home.  All of these features can be viewed from the home’s Dashboard, a central control center that will track usage.  All features will have a Guarantee from GE.

A few more details about the homes:

• Energy Star Lighting Package, Energy Star Appliances, an In-Home Energy and Water Management Control System, and a Solar Energy System
• A community-wide energy and water management program for a target of 50% or more energy and water savings in common areas.
• Fiber broadband services that will deliver voice, video, data, security and energy management services to every home.
• A curbside recycling program with weekly collection of newspapers, metal cans and plastic beverage containers for recycling.
• Greywater systems will recycle water for irrigation. A reclaimed water storage facility will be located within the community.

Can’t wait until October to see the Discovery Home and want to know more? Contact me.  As always, feel free to post your comments regarding the Community.  Turning Houston Green wants to know what YOU think.