Choosing between buying, building or renting

1.建造一个新家。

Building a sustainable and energy efficient house is not necessarily more expensive than building a house simply to meet provincial building codes. Many new home starts have achieved far superior performance while still coming in the same or lower in cost than conventionally built homes.

这一切都归结于设计和材料的选择。虽然可以以平价或更低的价格完成，但情况并非总是如此。平均而言，高性能住宅的价格似乎要高出5%到15%。但当你考虑到能源成本的降低，额外投资的回报可能需要10年或15年，之后你就会看到净节省。更不用说最终产品会更耐用，有更大的转售价值。

If you plan to build a healthy, high performance home, the best investment you can make is taking the time to do your research. This is a growth industry, so products and techniques change rapidly. Due to market demand, green building products are continually becoming easier to find, and quickly dropping in price.

2. Renovating

If you have either the skills to do it yourself or the patience to live in a mess for a bit, this can be a more affordable way to break into the housing market. You can increase the value of your home while at the same time reducing its operating costs.

一定要在购买前进行适当的检查，这样你就不会买到一个噩梦，并从房屋检查员那里得到一个优先列表，这样你就知道哪些问题需要立即注意，哪些是重要的，但可以等待，哪些只是装饰。

If your available funds are limited, make sure any upgrades you make deal with the durability issues first — roof, basement humidity, etc.

Keep in mind that most homes from the early 70’s and older have lead paint in the walls so if you’re gutting it at all wear a good respirator. Lead paint by the way, once painted over withlead-free paint, is generally harmless. It’s only in renovating that you need to be concerned.

By this point older homes with lead paint have likely had a few coats on them, so it is relatively well sealed inside. Just don’t let your kids chew on the walls and you should be fine.

3. Renting

在租来的房子或公寓里享受绿色生活是相当可行的:在厨房和浴室里安装低流量的装置;好的厚窗帘在减少热量损失方面非常有效;安装电子温控器以减少热量消耗，并使用零挥发性有机化合物涂料。

You can also installLED or compact fluorescent bulbs用泡沫填塞缝隙，冬天用塑料盖住窗户。这些升级并不一定要花你很多钱，你也可以考虑和房东谈谈，让他们为材料费用买单。越来越多的人在租房时询问水电费用，所以进行这些升级会增加房产的价值，让你离开时更容易租到房子。

These are affordable solutions that will help to reduce your bills and the ecological footprint of your home.

Renovation tax credits and financial incentives:

First speak with your bank and find out what funds you have available. Many banks offer incentives for including sustainable green components in your project like installingEnergy Star windows, doors and appliances. Along with those incentives, efficient appliances usually save more over their lifetimes than the added cost and will also save you money monthly, so it’s a win-win situation.

Check with your local municipality for any tax credits as well, some cities offer tax relief forLEED certified homes.Look into provincial grants as well, and ask your insurance company about discount rates for a healthier, ecologically responsible home. The Cooperators insurance company offers discount rates for LEED homes, they are the only one we've heard of so far.

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