Washington realtor Glenn Essig goes green

Realtors are getting involved to help home buyers and sellers find more energy-efficient resources as energy costs and concern for the environment rise. The National Association of Realtors created the Green Resource Council in the spring of 2008 to train realtors on ways to go green and to pass the knowledge on to home buyers and sellers.

Glenn Essig, of WRC Inc. Realtors, earned the Green Designation from the National Association of Realtors Feb. 26.

Being a Green Designation realtor, Essig will be able to help people learn more about finding ways to make their homes more energy-efficient and finding energy-efficient homes.
While people are aware of things like Energy Star appliances, Essig said, they have not fully made the switch to energy-efficiency in homes.

“I think people are more conscious than they were before,” he said.

Essig explained that many people are aware of Energy Star appliances, but making the switch to other more energy-efficient items, like compact light bulbs, is lagging.

“Eighty percent of homes still are not using the light bulbs. They haven’t made that change. (People) are habit forming. They have their regular bulb that comes on sale, and they buy their regular bulb, and they haven’t changed over.”

Essig suggests using LED bulbs that operate at one-tenth of the cost of a normal light bulb. Another suggestion would be to catch water from downspouts into barrels to water plants instead of using a sprinkler or hose.

Energy efficiency doesn’t end with just switching to more energy-efficient appliances or light bulbs. Homes are also being built using geothermal technology.

Essig said that the last three homes he was involved with building incorporated geothermal heating.

“It was basically done strictly to save energy,” he said. “It costs $15,000 more than the average heating and cooling system, but you’re looking at the long term, and it is a big benefit for the people who would buy the home because it is going to last and save money for years.”

While Essig is currently the only realtor in Washington with the green designation, there are a total of 15 realtors in the Peoria area that have the designation. The Peoria Board of Realtors has about 900 members.

As part of the National Association of Realtors Green Designation class, Essig spent four days learning about what makes a property green, determining the energy-efficiency of a property and assisting clients
in their efforts to go green.

The National Association of Realtors’ Green Designation and Green Resource Council were formed in the spring of 2008 as a three-day class designed to give realtors the knowledge of ways to save energy and go green.

There are many potential benefits for homeowners looking to go green by working with a realtor who has the green designation. Homeowners working with a green designation realtor can find financial grants and incentives for going green and find the property’s green potential.

“I advise sellers to make homes energy-efficient as a selling point,” Essig said.

Another potential benefit to homeowners is the listing and marketing of green properties. Realtors work with homeowners to make sure that the building is ready to be placed on the market. When getting the property ready to go on the market, realtors are advising sellers to make the switch to energy-efficient technology.

People are becoming more aware of energy-saving items such as Energy Star appliances, LED bulbs, collecting water in barrels, as well as not leaving lights on or water running. By helping homeowners learn of new energy-efficient technology, realtors can showcase properties that have more energy-efficient items.

“The National Association of Realtors is trying to get more and more people involved in becoming educated,” Essig said. “This is becoming very strong in the realtor industry.