With the price of utilities always on the rise, going green can be a cost saver. A new community being built in Hamlin is keeping that in mind. And they hope area seniors, will see the savings. Walter Lapinski loves living in Hamlin. But his large home in the center of town is just too big. "We are trying to downsize. We have six kids, now it's just down to my wife and I so this looks like it would be the ideal place to live," he says.

He's talking about Hamlin Meadows. It's a senior living community that is being built in Hamlin.

And one thing that sets this development apart: All the homes will be "green"

"All of these houses are going to exceed tier 3 for energy star rating so they will be as efficient as we can make them," says Dave Preston, President of Worldwide Energy.

The homes will use a geo-thermal heating and cooling system. "We're taking the energy from the ground, circulating a fluid through piping into the heat pump. What the heat pump does is removes the energy or removes the heat from the ground loop water that we're using and displaces that into the air stream," says Doug Dewar of Flow Energy.

Geothermal heat is about 70% cheaper than electric and 40-50% cheaper than gas or oil. And the savings is what this developer hopes will pull in the buyers. "You're going to have a lot higher re-sale value if you have a home with no utility bill. Everybody is very interested and when you say the're going to save some money, they like that," says builder Jim Beehler.

When all is said and done, there will be about 132 new homes here and all of those energy efficient homes will help offset about 600 tons of carbon dioxide a year. Aside from the geo-thermal system, the homes will also have foam insulation that helps keep the heat in or out depending on the season.

For Lapinski, the choice to go green, seems like a simple one. "If you look down the road, not knowing what taxes will be, what petroleum will be, this way you get in on the ground floor and don't have to worry about it."