It looks like there's a new eco-friendly label in town to help consumers when it comes to water conservation. WaterSense is a partnership program sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) helping to make it easier for Americans to save water and protect the environment.

The WaterSense logo is a green and blue water drop, and can be found on faucets, toilets, washing machines or any other appliance which uses water. Similar to the Energy Star label, using a WaterSense appliance or product can greatly reduce your monthly water bill and more importantly, it's a step toward helping to reduce your impact on the environment. The WaterSense label provides a reliable mark to help consumers identify products that save water and perform well. Unlike many other eco-labels, the WaterSense label is backed by third-party certification in order to ensure that every product that bears the label has met EPA's criteria for both water efficiency and performance. Any product that bears the WaterSense label has been independently tested to use about 20 percent less water and perform as well as or better than conventional models.

Water shortage
The program is relatively new, so many consumers and professionals seem to still be unfamiliar with it. But as the green building movement grows more momentum, we need to look at the total green home package. While water conservation usually falls low on a homeowner's list when it comes to their green choices, it is just as important. As a growing number of regions across the country are faced with looming water shortages, municipalities and residents in those areas will need to find more efficient ways to conserve.

Many municipalities today have already begun discussing charging more for water usage. Currently, prices are kept low to ensure all residents have access to this vital source. But over the past few years due to heavy drought in certain regions of the country, some cities have begun setting limits for the amount of water used in a particular home, and charging at a higher rate once that limit has been reached.

This is the situation facing Atlanta's northern and western suburbs, where regional water wholesaler Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority increased rates by about 50 cents per thousand gallons in October. Atlanta communities had cut back water use significantly in response to a record drought in the region that started in 2007.

Water budget tool
In addition to identifying appliances that are water-efficient, the EPA has released a spreadsheet called the water budget tool to help builders and landscapers determine some factors to improve water usage in and around a home. What I like about the spreadsheet is that it is easy to use. What I don't like is that homeowners and possibly some professionals will not have access to the data needed for their local area. For example, to calculate your landscape water allowance (LWA) for a site, you need to know your grass reference evapotranspiration in inches per year. This means knowing how much water will evaporate through your grass in the course of the year. At this point, I think county extension agents may be flooded with calls asking for LWA data for their area.

Regardless of the complex calculations, you don't have to be a professional landscaper, home builder or inspector to surf the WaterSense Web site. The site provides a great deal of information for the average consumer, as well as items for kids and educators.

As green building initiatives take hold, water conservation will soon play a vital role in shaping the development and construction of modern homes. Even with the recent downturn in home sales, the demand for more eco-friendly homes is not going away anytime soon.

Frank Schulte-Ladbeck, Professional Real Estate Inspector

The other day my co-worker and I got into a discussion about compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). I'm a big fan of these energy-efficient bulbs, but she isn't. My co-worker said she had all her CFL bulbs replaced after her electrician told her they were hazardous and more susceptible to short circuiting and causing a house fire. The electrician's advice seemed a bit farfetched to me and sounded more like a green myth.

CFLs aren't fire bombs
Over the past few years, CFLs have been all the rage since eco-friendly living became mainstream. But these ice cream swirl-shaped bulbs have many people scratching their heads. In the United States, lighting accounts for 5 to 10 percent of the total energy use in an average home and costs $50 to $150 a year in energy bills, according to the Rocky Mountain Institute. Compared to general service incandescent lamps that emit the same amount of visible light, CFLs use less power and have a longer rated life, but they generally have a higher retail price.

CFLs are a type of fluorescent lighting, designed to replace an incandescent lamp and can fit in the existing light fixtures formerly used for incandescent bulbs. In the U.S., a CFL can save more than $30 in electricity costs over the lamp's lifetime, compared to an incandescent lamp and save 2,000 times its own weight in greenhouse gases. But be weary of cheaper CFLs, because the quality of lighting may lack the same kind of illumination as an incandescent and can burn out a lot faster.

According to National Geographic's Green Guide, CFLs are perfectly fire-safe to use in homes:

Although a melted plastic base near the coil of the bulb might lead you to believe the CFL is a fire hazard, it is just the opposite. In fact, the melted plastic and burn marks are a sign that the bulb was working just as it should.

If you look at the plastic base, or ballast, of the light bulb, you should see a symbol indicating that the ballast is UL certified, which means that the plastic on the exterior can safely function during bulb operation and at the end of the bulb's life. The fact that the plastic on your bulb's ballast melted and turned black is totally normal, says John Drengenberg, consumer affairs manager at Underwriters Laboratory (UL), the company that evaluates plastics for, among other things, flammability characteristics. A CFL generates light from an electric current that runs through glass tubing filled with gases.

The electrified gases emit ultraviolet radiation, which then comes in contact with a phosphorous lining on the glass, thus creating light. Bulbs burn out when the ballast overheats and an electronic component, the Voltage Dependent Resister (VDR), opens up like a fuse in your home's fuse box, shutting off the circuit and generating heat and possibly a small amount of smoke. This might sound dangerous, but the VDR is a cut-off switch that prevents any hazards. The melted plastic you're seeing where the glass coil connects to the ballast is simply a sign that the heat is escaping as intended in the design of the bulb.

Handling CFLs
According to fellow blogger and home inspector Frank Schulte-Ladbeck, the chemical inside fluorescent bulbs does contain a small amount of mercury, so if the bulbs do break and you handle them, you need to wash your hands right away.

'I have read no studies which indicate that CFLs are more likely to short circuit or pose any other hazard,' says Schulte-Ladbeck.

Carefully cleaning up a broken CFL will help avoid spreading any powder, glass or mercury into the home. It's recommended that you should open the windows in the room where the bulb broke and allow it to air out for about 15 minutes. Never use a vacuum to clean up the broken bulb, and always wear rubber gloves if you have to handle the broken glass. Put the broken materials in a plastic bag, then double bag it and dispose of it. If there's no disposal or recycling places near you, you can throw it away in an outdoor trash bin.

As more energy-efficient and eco-friendly products become integrated into our homes, it's important to ask questions and do your own research on how to best handle these new gadgets.

Got hot local housing tips or a story you want to share? Contact Amy Le at openingdoorsblog@HomeFinder.com.

After attending numerous home building and design shows this year, it's safe to say that eco-friendly appliances and green home products are more than just a passing trend. If you're thinking about sprucing up your bathroom and want to trade in your conventional home furnishings for something a little more earth-friendly, I'd recommend checking out kitchen and bath manufacturer, Native Trails' fall inventory.

Tatra sink
When it comes to creating an eco-chic bathroom, there's more to greening than water conservation. California-based, Native Trails' handmade sinks, tubs and home accents are all crafted from recycled cooper. Their new Tatra sinks are an eco-friendly and striking alternative to porcelain or ceramic sinks. The textured surface and deep glow of cooper add warmth and a unique finish to any bath décor.

Aurora bathtub
Give your bathroom a cozy cottage look with Native Trails' cooper tub. The Aurora is an oval tub made from 100 percent recycled cooper. Because cooper is highly conductive, it's great material for a bathtub. When hot water starts filling the tub, the tub's surface heats up, allowing it be nice and warm when you climb in.

Old World vanity
The Old World Vanity from Native Trails is a unique piece with a past. Built of reclaimed wood salvaged from barns, fencing and other sources, the vanity's weathered texture and hand-washed finishes create a tranquil, earthy ambiance in your bathroom. Similar to the cooper sinks and tubs in the Native Trails line, the vanity is handcrafted.

Native Trails products are available at top kitchen and bath showrooms in the U.S. and Canada. Visit www.nativetrails.net to view the collection of sinks, tubs, tiles and home accents—all made from recycled materials.

Got hot local housing tips or a story you want to share? Contact Amy Le at openingdoorsblog@HomeFinder.com.

The world is changing. Gas has reached beyond $120 a barrel, and the demand for biofuel has caused food prices to skyrocket. As our everyday expenses surge, homeowners are looking for better ways to save money. For a growing number of people, this has led them down the path of 'green' technology and products. While some of these environmentally friendly gizmos have been around for some time (solar panels, for example), most are still fresh on the market, especially when it comes to energy-efficient products.

Tankless water heater
I'm currently planning to install a tankless water heater in my own home this year, but unlike most water heater units I inspect on the job, I have never seen a tankless unit installed before. About a month ago, I met a plumber who has been installing these units in Houston. We had a lively conversation about the proper way to install these water heaters and the common mistakes people make when purchasing them. I contacted some home inspectors around the country to see if they knew of any other issues. It appears that the tankless units are popular in California, but it has not caught on in most other parts of our country.

Yesterday, I ran into an acquaintance who mentioned that she and her husband have been working on 'greening' their home, but she was growing frustrated with the process. The plumber who installed her tankless water heater happened to be the same plumber that I had spoken with earlier in the month. I had checked out his facts in the building code, and found them to be accurate, so I was confident that he installed the unit properly. But her frustrations all began when the city's building inspector paid a visit to her property.

Keeping up with the 'Greens'
The inspector informed her that he had never seen such a unit. He asked for the installation manual, which he quickly glanced over, she said. He came to the conclusion that the unit was not installed to code, so he insisted that further modifications be made.

Unfortunately, he had the authority to enforce his request. Although most home inspectors that I know are trying to keep up with new developments and technological changes, city building inspectors do not always have that luxury. Having to go on daily site visits takes up most of their schedule and prevents them from having the time to study the latest information on new products.

If you are an early adapter, you may face a similar situation. My best advice is to have the expert installing the new unit at your home during the inspection. The installer may be able to show the inspector how the system works and meets the guidelines for the proper installation.

Frank Schulte-Ladbeck, Professional Real Estate Inspector

Over the weekend I stopped by the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show & Conference held here in Chicago. While I saw my fair share of sleek new bathroom faucets and granite kitchen countertops, nothing topped the list of cool new gizmos like Kohler's VibrAcoustic bathtub.

I could hear the oohs and ahhs as I approached the crowd of spectators converged around this state-of-the-art tub. Like something straight out of 'The Jetsons,' the long, white multisensory bath integrates light, choreographed music and soothing vibrations to create the ultimate relaxation experience.

The science of bathing                                                                                                                                      

Kohler's VibrAcoustic bath intergates light, music and soothing vibrations to create a relaxing experience.

Barry Glasford, a project analyst with Kohler and one of the brains behind the creation of the tub, told me the VibrAcoustic bath successfully marries the science of water and sound with the art of ergonomic design. Vibroacoustics is a technology-based sound therapy defined as hearing and feeling sound vibrations through the body. Glasford says it's proven to promote relaxation and is an ideal feature to add to a bathtub that is designed and engineered to instinctively ease tension and stress.

Who needs whirlpool jets when you have a selection of four uniquely composed music numbers creating a soothing synchronized vibration. Transducers producing the vibrations are strategically placed on the backside of the bath allowing the bather to not only hear but also feel the music streaming in from one of the four preset fountainheads. The sound waves travel through the water and gently resound in the body.

'During our test runs, I would see people fall into a deep, relaxed breathing, as they lay there in the bathtub,' Glasford says. 'The vibration and lighting encourages the bather's breathing rate to align with the beats or chord structures. The experience is truly three-dimensional.'

Creating euphoria
The four VibrAcoustic original compositions were created in collaboration with a renowned sound therapist and are choreographed uniquely for this bath to optimize the vibroacoustic effect. Two massaging beat experiences add even more physical vibration that can be adjusted to the desired level of intensity for a personalized bath experience.

But if you're more of a Guns N' Roses fan like myself, the DTV bath interface allows you to download your own songs from a MP3 player or radio station from a home computer. Glasford, however, says he wouldn't recommend up-tempo tunes if you're looking for a euphoric experience.

The synchronized lighting is truly the psychedelic eye-catcher on this suped-up tub. The four lights in the bath can create eight different colors and a myriad of color combinations and patterns. A color dial even allows bathers to choose a particular hue of each color. The lights are synchronized with the four preset fountainhead experiences and will also align themselves with the rhythm of outside music.

Bath design
The bathtub is made of acrylic and available in two sizes: 88-by-48-by-24 inches and 72-by-42-by- 26 inches, which allow bathers of different heights to be submerged completely. The 88-inch tub will cost you around $13,000 while the 72-inch bath retails for $10,500. For some people, the price will be worth the experience.

Got hot local housing tips or a story you want to share? Contact Amy Le at openingdoorsblog@HomeFinder.com.