NOTE: There will be a ribbon cutting at 1473 Scout Ridge Drive in Trace Crossings on Tuesday, June 23 at 11:30 a.m.  Special guests scheduled to participate in the ribbon cutting are Hoover Mayor Tony Petelos and Alagasco President Dudley Reynolds.

HOOVER – A new home in the Trace Crossings community has been certified by four state and national green building programs.

Birmingham builder Emmit Stallworth of Alpha Home Builders completed the home earlier this month.  It was built to the environmental building standards of:

• EarthCraft House™
• National Home Builders Association Green Building Program
• EnergyKey, a statewide energy efficiency program of the Home Builders Association of Alabama
• ENERGY STAR®, a national rating program for a home's appliances and heating and cooling systems.

Stallworth’s home is only the second one in Alabama to be certified by the National Association of Home Builders' National Green Building Program.

By choosing a home with these certifications, homeowners can benefit from reduced energy use and extra comfort to shield against cold, heat, draftiness, moisture, pollution and noise.  Features included in the home are dual-flush toilets, decorative recycled glass in the kitchen and bathroom and native plants for the landscaping.

The home also comes equipped with a natural gas clothes dryer, two high-efficiency natural gas furnaces, a natural gas cooktop and two natural gas tankless water heaters. In Alabama, homes that use natural gas for home heating, water heating and other applications produce 50 percent less carbon dioxide emissions than all-electric homes. Installing high-efficiency natural gas appliances helps builders achieve green building certifications.
 
The new home is located in the Scout Ridge section of Trace Crossings in Hoover.  While it is already under contract to be sold, Stallworth expects to begin building additional green homes later this year.

“One of the biggest misconceptions about ‘green’ building is that it is expensive and costs more than an ‘average’ home.  That certainly wasn’t the case with this house,” Stallworth said.  “The future success of ‘green’ building depends on builders who can build a ‘green’ home for around the same cost as a conventional home, which is what we were able to accomplish with this home.”

Directions to Trace Crossings: From I-459 to exit 10, turn onto Highway 150 towards Regions Park. Turn right onto Stadium Trace Parkway. Turn right onto Brock's Gap Parkway.  The Scout Creek neighborhood is off Brock’s Gap Parkway and first right past lakes.