TUCSON, Ariz. — Habitat for Humanity has always been concerned about green.

"Our primary focus is to make sure that the houses we build are affordable for our families, which generally have an income of $20,000 to the high $30,000s," said Michael McDonald, executive director of Habitat for Humanity Tucson.

"Our number one priority is affordability."

But the not-for-profit organization is shifting some focus to another kind of green — environmentally friendly building that meets the energy-saving standards of Tucson Electric Power's Guaranteed Home program, similar to the Environmental Protection Agency'snational program Energy Star.

All Guaranteed Home houses are inspected at least three times during construction to verify they meet the requirements to improve energy efficiency, according to Tucson Electric Power's Web site.

Habitat homes meet the standards of the Guaranteed Home program in several ways.

"We provide high R value insulation in the walls and the ceilings and then we also use double pane low E windows," McDonald said.

The homes also incorporate overhangs that block the sun.

Although Habitat homes once came equipped with evaporative coolers, newer homes like those in the Balboa Casitas located near Oracle Road and Glenn Street and Balboa Laguna near Grant Road and Glenn Street, come standard with air conditioners.

"It used to be cheaper to operate an evaporative cooler but now a base line 14 SEER (seasonal energy efficiency ratio) unit is equally as efficient," said Wade Hamstra, the general business manager for Hamstra Heating & Cooling, Inc. "It also does a much better job at cooling the house and making it comfortable."

The locally-owned Hamstra Heating & Cooling, Inc., located at 2035 E. 17th St., previously donated heating and cooling units to Habitat.

Air conditioning units with higher seasonal energy efficiency ratio numbers are more energy efficient than those with lower SEERs, Hamstra said.

Most homes have digital thermostats that also help reduce energy costs. With a digital thermostat, home owners are better able to control the temperature of their home.

"Each home also has two ceiling fans for improved circulation," McDonald said.

The American Lighting Association estimates that fans reduce energy costs by 40 percent during the summer as well as 10 percent in the winter.

Adding the environmentally-friendly features adds an additional cost of 10 to 15 percent to each of the houses, which generally cost $135,000 to build, McDonald said. But the upfront investments to be consistent with the Guaranteed Home program can save the families money over time.

Tucson Electric Power ensures the heating and cooling costs can be about 35 percent less for 1,200 square foot Habitat homes because of the Guaranteed Home standards.

Most of the eco-friendly features are installed by the more than 5,000 people who volunteer their time to Habitat each year in Pima County and neighboring Santa Cruz County, McDonald said. The majority of the volunteers come to the sites untrained, he said.

"About 20 percent of our builders are skilled builders that have some level of competency in a trade, but 80 percent of people are beginners," McDonald said. "Many of them never used a hammer, let alone power tools, before volunteering."

Volunteers do everything from framing to painting, but two jobs that inexperienced volunteers cannot perform are pouring concrete slabs and finishing the stucco siding, he said.

"A subcontractor does the air conditioning," McDonald said.

Although the home amenities are the primary way that Habitat is becoming greener, Habitat also provides each of its seven existing neighborhoods in Southern Arizona with landscaping, including trees appropriate for the desert.

Habitat is also building its first public park.

"It's going to be a lot in a little area," McDonald said. "There is going to be a piece of playground equipment and a little bit of grass. There are going to be benches and one picnic table, a grill and a ramada."

Two more parks are planned for the Corazon del Pueblo neighborhood near Interstate 10 and Craycroft Road. While Habitat is currently working on 40 homes in that location, Richmond American Homes and T.J. Bednar are also building in Corazon del Pueblo, making it a mixed-income neighborhood.

Habitat is not the only organization making eco-friendly and low-cost houses in Tucson. The city of Tucson recently donated land to the University of Arizona's Drachman Institute, which could be used for five homes, said Ron Whitman, the program manager for the city's community development department.

Mary Hardin, a professor at the UAwho is construction manager for the sub-division being built near Houghton Road, said the homes will be LEED certified by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Then the model homes will be shown to different non-profits. The homes will be sold to low-income families after that.

Habitat built two neighborhoods, Casa Alegre and
Banks Court, near Misson Road and 29th Street.
The neighborhoods have 33 homes total.

Danielle Oxman

The Drachman Institute, 819 E. First St., is an "environmentally sensitive and resource-conscious development of neighborhoods and communities" affiliated with The College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, according to the Institutes's Web site.

Habitat for Humanity currently has 269 homes in Tucson and Amado, Ariz., with more currently under construction. The organization also purchased land in Marana to continue its promise of "giving a hand up, not a handout" to low-income families throughout Southern Arizona.

All future Habitant houses will be built to meet the standards of the Guaranteed Home program. And most scrap materials used in the construction of the new homes will be recycled instead of thrown away.

"That's part of our green philosophy," McDonald said. "We are just in the stages now of recycling all home materials at our construction sites. We're putting the wood separate from the metal so everything can be recycled."