2011 Parade of Homes in San Antonio

Did you go?  The 2011 Parade of homes was held last month in the Champions Ridge subdivision in far north San Antonio.  Not for your average buyer, these homes were priced from $750,000 to over $1.5 million! 

From mysanantonio.com comes a great description of the event.  The six homes were loaded with

innovative energy-saving features combined with luxury and the latest in electronic home wizardry. 

This year’s parade homes showcased a variety of styles, ranging from Old World Spanish and Mediterranean to increasingly popular modern designs featuring clean lines, high ceilings, department store-sized closets and expensive but understated wood treatments.

Four of the six homes on the tour are already sold.  So there's definitely a healthy market in San Antonio for the upper end homes! 

How Energy Effecient is Your Home? Call CPS Energy to Find Out!

San Antonio's provider of electricity, City Public Service, or CPS Energy as they are now known, is offering a $95 energy audit of your home.  This audit will locate and measure leaks in the home's windows, ducts, and doors, and make recommendations to the homeowner on how they could better save energy dollars.

Possible recommendations include new caulking around windows and weather stripping around doors, adding insulation to attics, and making repairs to air conditioning ductwork. As an added incentive, the first 300 CPS Energy customers who follow through on the auditor's recommendations will receive a check for $1250 from the utility company as the result of a federal grant.

Don't wait!  Find out how you can save money each month on your CPS bill, and maybe even get help with paying for the energy upgrades!

San Antonio's First "Net-Zero" Home is Built

San Antonio's first "net-zero" home is being constructed in far north Bexar County on two acres, at a cost of $1.3 million.  Net-zero means that the home will use no more energy than it feeds back into the local power grid when complete.  The builder estimates the monthly utility bill will be about $50, which will mostly be to cover the gas and garbage pick-up.

The only visible signs that this home is different from others in the subdivision are the blue solar panels in the backyard, along with the 30,000 gallon tank that is part of the rainwater harvesting system, which funnels rainwater into underground pipes and then stores it in the tanks.  The water is then filtered before flowing indoors.

For more information on this unique San Antonio property, see the article in the San Antonio Express News by Karisa King, along with photos by Edward Ornelas.