Green Home Building

At Build Native, we take a holistic approach to green homebuilding—considering all the factors that go into the design and construction of a sustainable, eco-friendly home. We build homes in Austin and the Texas Hill Country, and we take pride in embracing sustainable practices that protect and preserve this beautiful part of the state. 

We’re an award-winning builder, and we’d love to talk to you about your dream home.

Build Native homes combine the best of modern luxury with net-zero features. Our custom homes are packed full of money-saving features, most of whichinclude solar power and PV panels, high-efficiency heating and cooling, potable rainwater harvesting, standing seam metal roofs, advanced framing with full envelope spray foam insulation and energy-efficient windows.

Due to the reduced price of solar, we have found that it is now more cost effective to install a high-efficiency air source heat pump with a little more solar to achieve the same result: No electric bill. There are still applications in which geothermal power is an excellent option for our green home building customers, and we continue to offer it as an option for our homes.

Water conservation and development of water supplies is crucial for meeting the growing demand for clean water. Rainwater collection (harvesting) is an innovative alternative water supply approach that captures, diverts and stores rainwater for later use. This stored rainwater can be used as the primary potable water supply for a home after it passes through a filtration and purification process. Drinking water supplied from a rainwater harvesting system is typically a higher quality water than water supplied by municipality or water well due to the absence of fluoride, chemicals and a variety of hard minerals. The majority of our homes have rainwater systems that supply 100% of the home’s water demand.

For moderate climates like Texas, heat pumps offer an energy-efficient alternative to traditional HVAC systems. Similar to refrigerators, they use electricity to transfer heat between indoor and outdoor spaces, providing both heating and cooling. Unlike conventional appliances, heat pumps move heat instead of generating it, resulting in up to 75% cost savings. The most common type is the air-source heat pump, which transfers heat between your house and the outside air. If you use electricity for heating, a heat pump can reduce consumption by 30-40%, and high-efficiency models also enhance dehumidification for increased cooling comfort in summer.

In Texas, the earth’s surface experiences extreme temperatures, but just six feet below the surface, the temperature remains a consistent 70 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the year. Geothermal power capitalizes on this stability for efficient heat exchange. Through vertically

drilled wells with special water-filled piping, a geothermal compressor facilitates heat exchange in homes. The proximity of indoor temperature to the ground or air, the media of heat exchange, directly influences efficiency.

Solar power technology has been around for about 70 years. However, it wasn’t until the last decade or so that the cost of producing energy with solar panels reached parity with non-renewable energy sources. Batteries have also seen major development and now have significantly higher capacity and output than those produced just a year ago. It’s now possible to power your entire home by solar and have a battery-powered backup system in case the Texas power grid is interrupted.