Tonight's the night! HGTV to announce 'green home' winner

Somebody's winning a new home tonight.

HGTV will announce the winner of the network's first-ever "Green Home," an environmentally-friendly Lowcountry cottage in Tradition Hilton Head, a large development off U.S. 278 in Hardeeville.

The half-hour show, which begins at 8 p.m., will culminate with an Ed McMahon-style knock on the door.

More than 21 million entries were submitted for the2,000-square-foot home valued at $850,000, said Emily Yarborough, spokeswoman for Home and Garden Television.

"That exceeded our expectations," she

said.

The house combines environmental friendliness and architectural beauty, house planner Jack Thomasson said in March.

"We wanted to be able to prove that you can have a charming, beautiful house that is just surprisingly 'green.' "

The house uses a solar energy system to provide heat and light that can keep the house powered up for 72 hours during an outage. Outside, it recycles rainwater and uses permeable pavers instead of a traditional patio so the rain seeps into the ground instead of being lost as runoff. Rainwater is directed onto the lawn to remove pollutants before it reaches the lake, or is filtered into a 500-gallon, underground cistern, where it is held for lawn irrigation or toilet water.

Inside, most of the home's "green" elements are behind the walls, such as in the insulation and plumbing system.

It uses organic fabrics on furniture made from recycled building materials. It also incorporates energy efficient appliances and lighting.

Based on the response, the network plans to build a second green home next year. The location has not been announced.