It’s hard to go for 24 hours these days without hearing something about green—green lifestyles, green products, green buildings. So what does it mean to build a green house? To homeowners, green means a water-conserving, more durable, healthier, and more energy-efficient home. To planet Earth, green buildings mean much more. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), buildings are responsible for:
- 39 percent of total energy use
- 12 percent of total water consumption
- 68 percent of total electricity consumption
- 38 percent of carbon dioxide emissions
By adopting green building strategies to reduce these numbers, we can maximize both economic and environmental performance. Here are a few of the main elements that should come into play when building a green home. More will follow in the next article.
1—Orientation and Design. What’s one of the simplest, most-often-overlooked ways to reduce the energy usage of the home? Select a lot that allows the most advantageous positioning of the house in relation to the sun. By combining proper home orientation with a design that’s focused on retaining the sun’s heat in winter and blocking it in summer, some experts estimate a potential energy savings of 30 to 40 percent.
2—Sealing the Building Envelope: We’re not talking insulation here. This step refers to a frequently overlooked detail in new-home construction: reducing air leakage into and out of the home. Most insulation does not block air and cannot overcome leakage emanating from every unsealed hole, crack, and seam.
According to the Department of Energy about 1/3 of this air infiltrates through openings in the ceilings, walls, and floors. The duct system is responsible for approximately 15% of the leakage. Other sources include the fireplace – 14%, plumbing penetrations – 13%, doors – 11%, windows – 10%, fans and vents – 4%, and electrical outlets – 2%. As a matter of fact, according to the Air Barrier Association of America, a typical 2,500 sq. ft. frame home has more than ½ mile of cracks and crevices.
To reduce the high cost of air infiltration, cracks and seams need to be caulked and sealed at all building assembly connections. Holes need to be sealed around all penetrations including gaps surrounding plumbing, electrical boxes, exhaust fan housings, recessed lighting, air registers, attic access doors, the chimney flue, the dryer vent, and wiring. Gaps around electrical outlets need to be filled too.
Caulking and sealing of all penetrations and the connections of all building assemblies has several benefits:
- The process is not expensive
- The payoff is short
- It has quite an impact on energy efficiency.
- The benefits and short payoff are appreciated by potential homeowners.
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Guest Writer Tracy DeCarlo
Tracy DeCarlo is author of The Difference is in the Details: The Homeowner’s Planning Guide for Building a Functional Home and owner of One Stop Green Home Certification.
Click Here To Purchase The Book
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It’s great to see people trying to make a difference in how we life. I work in the geothermal air conditioning business and we have noticed business pick up lately. The tax credits available seem to be helping, too. Thanks for the info!
I think it is fantastic how we are using renewable energy. I think we also need to do things like reducing our energy usage, like installing geothermal heat pumps to replace energy sucking heating and cooling systems.