We found a model home in the Poconos that you might call "Super Green."
The home was recently rated emeral-level green. That's the highest energy-saving rating a home can receive.
Robert Brown from RGB Custom Home Builders said the home is actually the first in the nation to receive the emerald-level rating.
When you walk in the home, you can't smell a thing because no harsh chemicals were used in the building process.
Brown says he could go on and on about the home near East Stroudsburg.
"It would take me hours literally to tell you all the things that we did to this house," Brown explained.
To start the kitchen floors are made from bamboo and the living room floors are recycled cork.
Brown says his company wanted to reach the highest level of energy efficiency: the emerald-level green.
To do that, they had to rack up the points. They gained some by using indigenous stone on the exterior of the house.
"A material that was taken. That was either harvested locally or produced locally within a 50 mile radius of where the home was built," Brown said.
Even the toilet is energy efficient. The toilet is a dual-flush toilet. One button uses less than one gallon of water and the other uses 1.6 gallons of water when flushing.
Then there's a rain garden outside. The gutters reduce run-off and put the stormwater back in the ground.
Brown says the geothermal system uses ground temperature to heat and cool the 4-bedroom home for only about 370 dollars a year.
The back deck is made from recycled material. Brown said the house received extra points because the deck is low maintenance.
"More and more, some guys from different parts of the country say if you're not a green builder. You're done," Brown said.
The home was recently rated emeral-level green. That's the highest energy-saving rating a home can receive.
Robert Brown from RGB Custom Home Builders said the home is actually the first in the nation to receive the emerald-level rating.
When you walk in the home, you can't smell a thing because no harsh chemicals were used in the building process.
Brown says he could go on and on about the home near East Stroudsburg.
"It would take me hours literally to tell you all the things that we did to this house," Brown explained.
To start the kitchen floors are made from bamboo and the living room floors are recycled cork.
Brown says his company wanted to reach the highest level of energy efficiency: the emerald-level green.
To do that, they had to rack up the points. They gained some by using indigenous stone on the exterior of the house.
"A material that was taken. That was either harvested locally or produced locally within a 50 mile radius of where the home was built," Brown said.
Even the toilet is energy efficient. The toilet is a dual-flush toilet. One button uses less than one gallon of water and the other uses 1.6 gallons of water when flushing.
Then there's a rain garden outside. The gutters reduce run-off and put the stormwater back in the ground.
Brown says the geothermal system uses ground temperature to heat and cool the 4-bedroom home for only about 370 dollars a year.
The back deck is made from recycled material. Brown said the house received extra points because the deck is low maintenance.
"More and more, some guys from different parts of the country say if you're not a green builder. You're done," Brown said.
