Home : Tips For Green Living

Building Green

We talk about the many ways to use sustainable building techniques in several different places on this site. Green schools is informative as well as green buildings. On this page we have a short checklist of tips for green living and how that relates to building green.

There are many issues in the building industry needing to be addressed. The first one being the size of our homes, they keep getting bigger. In the last thirty years the average home size has grown from 1500 square feet to 2300 square feet. This does not seem like to big of a jump to me, but during that same time frame the average family size has decreased. Our need for space needs to be carefully considered in all new construction, as costs are getting out of hand. The carbon footprint our new, big, homes are leaving is large also. New home construction contributes to about 6% of our water pollution and the energy used to build one home is enormous. It would take the average family ten years to use the amount of energy it takes to build one home.

Another major problem with new home construction is that at least 80% of them are not energy efficient. The LEED program is working to correct this, and hopefully it will, but now it is a problem. Another problem is water consumption, or should I say over-consumption. The water wasted while waiting for hot water is a staggering eight thousand gallons a year for the just one family. An additional eight billion gallons go on our lawns.

With these figures in mind lets talk about building green homes.

Ceiling Fans : Install them in every room and use them. When used, they can reduce heating and cooling bills. It only costs a penny an hour to run a ceiling fan while the a/c will run you over forty cents.

Energy Star : Use Energy Star rated appliances and electronics throughout your home. Anytime a replacement is needed, buy Energy Start Rated, and an annual savings of at least six hundred dollars is obtainable.

Plumbing : Simply put, use low-flow fixtures, and start saving water immediately. Your annual water savings could be in the area of sixty dollars and fifty-four gallons of water.

Carpet : Instead of buying carpet made from synthetic fibers consider the new recycled carpet. Just fifteen hundred square feet of recycled carpet could prevent the equivalent of more than eight thousand two-liter bottles from reaching a landfill near you. Carpet is just one of the many products made from recycled plastic.

Drywall : Using drywall made from recycled products is another building green tip worth considering. You could also consider using drywall made from synthetic gypsum or fly ash, these are both acceptable green solutions.

Countertops : You can find these made from 100% recycled materials, now how green is that? Plastic is just one of the many materials being recycled and used in countertops. Take the time to visit a plant where these are being made and you will probably be amazed at the variety available to choose from.

Adhesives : New homes may not be held together entirely with glue, but almost. The amount of chemicals used to make these different adhesives is mind boggling. If possible, use building techniques that that eliminate them altogether. When they are needed go for the ones with a water or vegetable base. Doing these two things will eliminate up to 99% of the hazardous emissions associated with a new home.

Air Conditioning : Energy Star is the way to go here. Energy Star rated a/c units will use 20 to 40 percent less energy than non rated units. Use programmable thermostats for all of your heating and cooling needs and watch the saving grow.

Dual-Flush Toilets : These are a true water saver, up to 67% over a traditional toilet. You decide whether you need just a little flush or if the max is needed. Somebody was thinking green when they came up with that one.

Garage : The best option is to keep it separate from your home. If it is connected, seal it off as best possible. Car emissions find there way into the home and contaminate the air. In most cases you don't even know this is happening, but it is, and it can make you very sick.

Fabrics : With the different options available today there is no reason not to go recycled when it comes to your drapes, chairs and other upholstered items. Just half of the polyester produced each year is enough to cover the state of New York. Lowering the demand for this product is easy to do if you are thinking green.

Finishes : Volatile Organic Compounds, VOCs, are a major contributor to air poor air quality. Consider not driving your car for a year, the VOC reduction into the air would be the same as using a few gallons of low VOC coating, as opposed to normal stain. Check the cans before you buy them, they should say low, or no, VOCs. When you are looking at your needs for treated wood consider using recycled plastic lumber. This is an ideal material for decks, benches and many other uses.

Furniture : The absolute greenest way to buy furniture is used. Between the second hand stores, the consignment stores, yard sales, swap meets, Ebay and, well the list goes on and on. Buy used saves you money, possibly lots of it. It also saves on the energy costs associated with the manufacturing and dispersal of new furniture. And it would keep it out of our landfills where more than seventeen billion pounds of furniture wind up every year. At the least, when buying new, buy products made with either recycled or sustainable material.

Tiles : Have you seen the 100% recycled glass tiles? They can be used for countertops, backsplashes and floors. If you haven't yet looked into them you will be amazed at how pretty they are, and the warranties are good also. There is no reason not to try them in your new green home.

Roofing : Energy savings can be considerable when a reflective material is used on your roof. We know most of your roof will be solar panels, but not all of it. Look into reflective roof coatings for energy savings.

Flooring - When thinking about your hardwood flooring, think Bamboo. Bamboo regenerates in less than seven years so it is a renewable green option over conventional hardwood floors.

Land : Consider recycling pre-used land. This is an answer to urban sprawl and a viable alternative to clearing more valuable ground for another house. An existing building can be leveled and you can start building green from scratch. These types of land considerations come with a couple of terms you should know. greenfields refer to virgin, new, land while brownfields are are lots with existing structures in place. Greenfield home building is eating up more than two hundred million acres of raw land a year. In this case it might be greener to go brown. Orientation of your home is another key factor in choosing your land wisely. Passive heating and cooling can save money and drastically reduce your homes carbon footprint. Orientation, and window placement, plays a major role in this area of alternative energy. The last consideration worth mentioning with regards to your land has to do with travel and distances to work, schools and other activities. Shortening your work commute by just one mile each way would be five hundred less miles you would drive each year.

Insulation : There are two major considerations to keep in mind when it comes to insulation and your green home. Insulate to the max, doing so will greatly reduce you heating and cooling cost. Use recycled material. It's available in paper, glass and other materials, including used Levis. Producing fiberglass insulation uses at least six times the amount of energy of the recycled counterparts. Find a good supplier and go crazy with it.

Landscaping : There are many considerations to be made if you are landscaping from scratch. Using plants native to your area is always a good start. Keeping your mowing needs to a minimum is a green consideration. Gas lawn mowers are known to emit about 11 times more air pollution than the average new car. Water considerations should be important to you also. The greenest landscaping tip I can give you is this, plant only what you are capable of watering with harvested water. In order to do this you first need to calculate how much water you can harvest. This can include roof water, gray water and many other sources. If you harvest correctly, and add it all up, you will be amazed at the amount of growth you can sustain in your yard without the use of city, or well, water.

Shade : I have written everything you would ever want to know about shade at shadebuilder.com. Here I will just say if you are building green you will need to make use of shade. This can be in the from of eves, awnings, shade screens and living plants. With adequate use of shade you could easily reduce your cooling costs by 25%.

Windows : Just like insulation, don't skimp on windows. Learn about window ratings and buy good ones. Choosing the right windows for your applications can easily save four hundred dollars a year. When windows need afternoon shade, do it. There are to many shade options available to have that hot afternoon sun heating up your house.

Windbreaks : Trees and shrubs not only provide shade they can also block the cold winds. Proper use of windbreaks could knock another hundred dollars a year off your utility bills. If we keep lowering you utility bills like this pretty soon you will be paying nothing at all. That is the idea with green buildings, no utility bills, and the next section should easily take care of whatever you have left. Just go solar in a big way.

Solar : Make use of all the rebates and incentives available, and if you do, your system will pay for itself within ten years. You need three different systems, designed for three different uses. One will heat your water, one will heat your air and the biggest will provide you with electricity. Every single day more solar energy falls on the earth than would be used by the planets 6.6 million people in twenty seven years. Get those panels up on the roofs and be a part of the solution.

Wood : The last item on the list of building green tips is wood. Do you want to save about 88 trees? Or about 3 acres of forest? Use recycled wood. Recycled wood is four times more energy efficient than traditional wood and can last up to four times as long.