Ideal Living magazine’s Teresa McLamb searched the 2009 International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas for top new green innovations.

Green is definitely the color of new-home construction as more Americans realize the energy- and cost-saving benefits of being kinder to our planet. Technology is making older concepts less expensive and easier to incorporate in construction, but it’s also making possible an amazing array of new ideas. Governments are getting in on the act, offering tax incentives and rebates on many energy savers. Here are a few great new green products.

Water Heaters

The latest appliance to come under the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Star program, the water heater is the second-largest energy consumer in the home (first is HVAC). GE’s hybrid electric water heater, expected fourth quarter 2009, promises to cut kilowatt usage and cost in half. The hybrid is designed to “absorb heat in ambient air and transfer it into the water,” according to the company.

An advanced internal heat exchanger with 100,000 BTU input is at the heart of A.O. Smith’s new Vertex 100 direct vent gas water heater, which has 96 percent thermal efficiency. The Vertex’s heating coil rises in the tank; a top-fired burner shoots heat from the top to the bottom and back up. It’s designed to pair with other applications such as radiant floor heat.

Ed Begley, Jr., star of HGTV’s Living with Ed, was so impressed by the unit that he installed it in his Los Angeles home. “I had a very low natural gas bill before, and [the Vertex 100] brought it down to half of that.” Jay Leno has installed the unit in the garage where he keeps his prized car collection. www.aosmith.com

Both units can be installed in the same footprint as a traditional water heater with existing water and electrical connections.

Also expected from GE later this year, or early 2010, is a line of solar water heaters which meet new Energy Star guidelines. Solar water heaters have been proven to be three times more efficient than comparable electric tank water heaters and typically consume 50 to 70 percent less energy than standard heaters. Forward-thinking states like Hawaii have legislated that, beginning in 2010, all new homes must have solar water heaters, and California has set a goal of installing 200,000 solar water heaters by 2017. www.ge.com

You can convert traditional home electric or natural gas water heaters with a new product borrowed from swimming pool heating technology. SunGrabber works with existing systems to produce more than 50 percent of the hot water requirements of a typical home. It is manufactured in the U.S. by FAFCO. Scottsdale custom home builder Matt Morgan says his plumber has installed the system in several homes. “It uses very little electricity and works very well on remodels.” www.sungrabber.com

Outdoor Kitchens

Outdoor kitchens have long been the rage, but Robert H. Peterson Company has raised the bar with its FireMagic brand solar-powered grills and beverage center. Available through retail centers, the Echelon Apollo Series grill utilizes solar energy to power all electrical components including lights, ignition system, digital thermometer and rotisserie motor. Solar also charges a 6-watt, 12-volt battery that allows operation after the sun goes down. A retro-fit kit is available to convert existing Echelon island grills to solar power, according to assistant vice president Mike Waller.

The company’s solar-powered beverage center includes fresh water, a blender and lights, and is self-contained so there’s no need to attach plumbing. www.rhpeterson.com

Induction Cooking

The introduction of induction cooktops in the 1980s was a bust, but technology has yielded development of more viable products from manufacturers such as Kenmore, Viking and Gaggenau. The big plus for induction cooking, which uses a magnetic field to heat the cookware, is that 90 percent of the heat goes directly into the cooking vessel, whereas a typical gas stovetop wastes 60 to 85 percent of the energy it uses. That also means less heat escaping into the kitchen air. The downside is that they are still fairly expensive. Most are sold as a built-in cooktop, but Kenmore’s newest model tops a convection oven.

Some models, such as the Fagor, will not activate unless induction-ready cookware is detected. Because heat is concentrated in the pot rather than on the cooktop, there’s a safety gain as well. The cooler cooktop minimizes burnt-on spills, according to Consumer Reports, and induction elements can shut off automatically when the pot is removed, reducing the chance of cooking fires (which are the leading cause of house fires). www.fagoramerica.com/appliances; www.vikingrange.com; www.kenmore.com; www.gaggenau.com; www.consumerreports.org

Harnessing Phantom Power Drain

Whole-house energy management systems are being introduced by several companies, but a very simple retro-fit can achieve energy savings for existing homes. GreenSwitch™ allows the consumer to control the power load of HVAC, lighting and plug-ins. Completely customizable, the system uses wireless technology to cut power to designated lights and outlets and to set the climate control to economy mode, according to the company’s stocking distributor. Typical energy savings run 15 to 35 percent. The product was a finalist in the latest Green Log Awards. www.greenswitchteam.com; www.greenlogawards.com

Home Cooling and Heating

Here’s an amazingly simple idea that can result in a 15 to 30 percent reduction in HVAC usage. Inventor Shawn Smith had a problem with poor air circulation in his 1970s Florida home. Through experimentation, he designed a vent that would replace his existing AC vent with one that could also support an overhead fan. Not only did the device improve his air circulation, it allowed him to raise his thermostat several degrees. The Invisivent proved to work just as well with heating. It can easily be retro-fit in a home’s existing ductwork or installed with new construction, and most retail fans work with the vent.

Smith’s company, N2Vent Inc., sells directly through the web or by phone, and is working on a global manufacturing and distribution deal. The product is also available for installation in horse barns to help combat equine anhidrosis (nonsweating disease). www.invisivent.com

The first residential co-generation heating system available in the U.S. has been introduced by Climate Energy LLC. It uses a Honda generator with an oil-powered boiler or gas furnace to capture and reuse heat that has formerly been lost. This results in fully one-half of the home’s heat being free of charge, and reduction of the carbon footprint by two-thirds, according to Carl Meyer, business manager. The concept is widely used in industry, but has not been practical for residential use until now. The system can also be configured to hook into the home’s hot water heater. Current distribution is limited to states above the Mason-Dixon line. Development of an AC system using the same concept is underway. www.freewatt.com

The first-ever pellet fireplace for the U.S. market will be available in the second quarter of 2009 from Quadra-Fire. Designed for supplemental heating, the stove can push 60,000 BTUs of heat per hour and can hold enough pellets for up to seven days of continuous operation. “Environmentally conscious homeowners who supplement their home’s central heat with a pellet fireplace, stove or insert can attain the same CO2 reduction of owning three hybrid cars,” said Jeni Forman, Quadra-Fire brand manager. The EDGE™60 technology allows for fuel options ranging from wood and grass pellets to corn and wheat. www.quadrafire.com; www.hearthnhome.com

Without a doubt, my favorite product at the recent International Builders Show was the Swiss-made infrared home heating system. Layered on a film the thickness of linoleum, which can be produced in any size, color or pattern, a piece of InfraWell measuring about 30” x 30” can heat a room of 200 square feet. It hangs on the wall and plugs into any household outlet or a 12- or 24-volt battery, making it ideal to heat outdoor living space on cool nights. Indoors, it can be unplugged when the room is not in use, dramatically reducing energy costs. Developed for the space program, InfraWell uses 50 percent less energy and may cost 30 percent less than conventional heating systems, according to Jane Spiess-Steinmann, whose European-based consulting company is working toward distributing the product in the U.S. www.infrawell-heating.com

Connecting to the Power Grid

There are many other worthy new products out there, including Electrolux’s Green central vacuum for advanced air quality, PureOFlow’s whole-house water quality system, EcoLife’s non-toxic wood preservative and Armstrong’s beautiful Asian-inspired bamboo cabinetry. Serious Materials is using 80 percent post-industrial recycled waste to produce a replacement for gypsum drywall and Kohler now offers waterless urinals for residential use.

Keep your eyes open for a concerted effort by major manufacturers to connect to the nation’s power grid of more than 3,000 utility companies. Energy-management-enabled appliances by GE and others are already in the marketplace. Enabled to receive a signal from the local utility, the appliance will react without the need for customer interaction to avoid peak time usage without interfering with critical home needs.

We’ve come a long way since the 1970s, when out-of-work actor Ed Begley, Jr. started the energy-saving renovation of his 1936 house, but he’s fond of saying that we can all save money and the environment by taking one project at a time. As a representative from GreenSwitch’s™ email signature reads: “What an amazing time to be alive; this generation gets to change the world!”