In the past people often think that “green” is about recycling and more recently about saving energy. To me, “green” is a collective term for sustainability.
Remodeling an existing home or building a new home is a perfect time to incorporate the different aspects of sustainability. Besides saving energy, green homes also save water, provide better indoor air quality, better comfort, a healthier living environment and are more durable.
- Indoor Air quality – Many homes are leaky because of the holes and cracks around the houses. Also ducts can be leaky or broken apart. Stale air from the attics, crawlspaces, and joints can infiltrate the home. At the same time, the indoor heated air in winter or cooled air in summer can leak outside. As we all know, air coming from attics and crawlspaces are not fresh. The air can be mixed with dust, fiberglass, mildew, mold or dead rodents. By sealing all the joints, holes, cracks, ducts, and repairing the broken ducts, the stale air cannot infiltrate the house. Use ventilation system to bring in fresh air, or better yet open some windows, weather permitting. Also add house plants that can help absorb carbon dioxide and some other VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds).
- Comfort – After sealing all the holes, cracks and joints, and repairing the ducts, a home needs to be insulated to at least R38 in the attic and R13 in the wall. For more comfort, replace old windows with new double pane lowE windows. Insulating the under floor can even the temperature through out the home. No more complaints about this room is too cold or that room is too warm. Better insulation can also reduce the size of the furnace to heat the home. You use less energy to make your home more comfortable and in turn save money – a double winner.
- Health – According to the Environmental Protection Agency, we spend 90% of our time indoor. Having healthy air inside of our house is important. Conventional home furnishings and other materials contain VOCs. VOCs and other chemicals used in home can off-gas into the living environment and may affect your health, especially children. Use low VOC paint, stain, varnish, natural carpet, etc when ever possible. Check your indoor air quality if someone in your home affected by asthma. Eliminating chemicals in the home is good for your health and the environment.
- Energy Efficiency – If you have some rooms are too cold or some others too warm, it can indicate leaky ducts or broken ducts. Check the ducts in the attic or crawlspace to see if there are holes, cracks or broken apart. Or hire a Building Performance Institute certified home performance contractor to check it. With the advancements of testing technology, we now can measure and find out precisely where the leaks are. The contractor can do an energy analysis and recommend work required to make the home more energy efficient.
- Water Conservation – Our federal government has developed the WaterSense label for water conservation fixtures just like Energy Star for energy efficient appliances to help you save water and money. The WaterSense label can be found on many home products such as bathroom sinks, faucets, and accessories, showerheads, toilets, and weather-based irrigation controllers.
