James O'Reilly, the developer of Fairway Hills, wants to build a neighborhood that is earth friendly ("Green")  The dilemma is that everyone has a different idea of what their Green home should be. David Wigder, Vice President of Business Development at RecycleBank, talked about this problem in his blog Getting Smart About Green Targeting. The Green home market is fractured and undefined at this point and it is important that the technologies incorporated into a home will make good practical sense.

Given the uncertainty about what people want, it is useful to outline the goals that the developer of this community has set.

1) The homes will be modest sized- around 2,000sf- the homes will be custom and can be any size the buyer wants. But building a large 3,000sf+ home and calling it "efficient" just seems to  run against the goals of this project and the philosophy of conservation.

2) Geothermal Heating/Cooling- This is the most practical heating and cooling solution available today. It eliminates dependence on fossil fuels (except for the electricity production) It is convenient, economical to run and very reliable.

3) Passive solar-  The homes will be designed and sited to take advantage of the suns warmth in the winter months. This just makes sense, it is basically free energy to heat the home during the cold New Hampshire winters. It is the ultimate in reliability. The use of glass connects the interior of the home to the natural beauty of the outdoors and makes the views of the surrounding land part of the interior of the home.

4) Use of recycled material- Using engineered materials that are made from recycled materials will provide several benefits:

• less virgin material saves natural resources
  
• engineered materials are often stronger
  
• Most of all engineered materials require less maintenance for the homeowner