|
GREEN BUILDING AND DESIGN PRACTICES WITHIN THE HOME
ARE CATCHING ON — AND THE SAVINGS CAN BE MEASURED IN
MORE WAYS THAN ONE.
By Corin Hirsch
As recently as a decade ago, many
Americans considered green building and design
practices a luxury for wealthier homeowners. But as
global warming and high fuel prices have dominated
the headlines, homeowners from all demographics are
realizing that green design can yield savings down
the road—savings that extend beyond money, to the
health of their families and the environment.
Retailers are seeing exploding demand for products
that reduce energy use and waste, or are non-toxic
to their users, such as fiberglass windows or
water-based paints. According to the U.S. Green
Building Council, green building product sales
nearly doubled from 2003 to 2005, from $5.8 billion
to $10 billion.
Although the old stigma that green practices are too
costly has subsided, it still remains a roadblock to
people catching the green fever.
“The public assumes it will cost them a huge amount
to do these things,” says Mark Albee, a South
Strafford, Vermont, contractor who worked on Cobb
Hill Cohousing, an environmentally minded complex of
14 buildings on 260 acres in Hartland, Vermont. “But
there are always costs associated with building or
remodeling. It’s a matter of where you apply those
costs.”
Though environmentally friendly materials can be
more expensive, spending more on a product can mean
savings down the road. For instance, triple-paned
windows might cost more to install, “but they will
pay for themselves within a year or two,” according
to Dan Eckstein, outreach coordinator at the
Yestermorrow Design/Build School in Warren, Vermont.
It can be hard to keep up with local contractors and
designers as they rattle off the green materials
they are implementing into people’s homes:
photovoltaic solar panels, cellulose insulation,
bamboo shades, and lime-based plaster. Though the
green design field is exploding with options, there
are some basic steps that can be taken to green up
an existing home or the design of a new one. “It’s
surprising what you can do — how easy it is,” says
Albee.
Make your home as energy-efficient as possible by
installing efficient power and heating systems.
Tighter insulation can greatly reduce the use of
non-renewable resources such as oil and coal.
“By improving the heating system and tightening up
drafts [during a recent project], we took a leaky
old farmhouse and improved the energy efficiency of
the building by two-thirds.” explained Albee.
Both Vermont and New Hampshire offer tax incentives
and/or rebates to homeowners who invest in
energy-efficient heating and electric systems, such
as solar water heating, solar electric
(photovoltaic) panels, and wind power. Vermont also
offers rebates to residents who purchase Energy
Star–qualified appliances. But even merely improving
insulation can have a dramatic impact on heat
retention: sunscreen shades will cool rooms in the
summer, while denser curtains—coupled with
high-performance windows and good insulation—will
help conserve heat in the winter.
And don’t overlook the obvious: in chilly northern
New England, a blazing woodstove is a classic,
clean, and cost-effective source of heat.
When building or designing your home, choose
materials with care. By using materials grown or
created within a 500-mile radius, you cut down on
the energy and emissions used for a product’s
transportation. And you’ll also be bolstering the
local community. “We use local workrooms so that the
purchase of service goes directly to the new
economy,” says Andrea Easton of Creature Comforts,
an interior design firm in Enfield, New Hampshire.
“This is a green bonus we often forget about,
keeping the local economy healthy.”
Judging the environmental impact or “greenness” of a
product is an essential component of green design.
Green products are those that have minimal impact
during manufacturing, lower emissions, easy
maintenance, and sometimes contain recycled
materials like glass, paper, or post-industrial
waste.
Pay attention to the toxic content of paints,
finishes, and sealants. Indoor air is one of the top
five leading health risks in the United States,
according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Emissions from paints and solvents containing VOCs
(volatile organic compounds) can cause asthma,
nausea, and other problems. “More and more people
are complaining of chemical sensitivity,” says
Eckstein, whose Yestermorrow school offers a class
in natural paints and finishes.
Paint manufacturers such as Sherwin-Williams and
Benjamin Moore offer low-VOC paints, and paints can
also be formulated from natural materials like clay,
natural latex, or milk. Lime- and clay-based
plasters are available, as are non-toxic floor
coverings such as natural linoluem, ceramic tile, or
jute.
Formaldehyde is one of the biggest culprits when it
comes to “offgassing,” or the fumes released by VOCs
at room temperature. Formaldehyde found in plywood,
particle board, and foam insulation can be avoided
by using low-VOC alternatives such as straw
particleboard or cellulose insulation made from
recycled newspapers.
Recycling is not just for glass and paper. Instead
of building a new home, consider renovating an older
one. “You’re recycling that home,” says Eckstein.
When designing the interior, consider architectural
salvage, used furniture, or antiques. “Think of the
dent in new materials production that consumers
could make by really giving salvage remodeling a run
for its money,” says Easton. “For instance, I
encourage a customer who is redoing their kitchen to
use a natural material for their countertops, and
either use their existing cabinets, add similar ones
from other salvage jobs, or replace completely with
salvage to inject new character to their new space.”
Think mirrors from old windows and tables from
crates and old table legs and turnings — all
strategies that Easton has used in her business.
Building materials such as brick and lumber can
easily come from salvage. If you do clear land to
build a new home, use the harvested wood from the
site in construction.
Embrace the principles of space, light, and clean
air in your home. Studies have shown that people who
dwell in structures with abundant light and
ventilation demonstrate greater productivity and
contentment. So utilize southern light. Incorporate
views into a design. Plant a tree at the southeast
corner. Once you’ve done that, you‘ll be reaping the
simplest benefits of green building and design. |
