| | | A Green House

From WikiVerde

Topics for A Green House

• New Quality Standard For Green Homes
• Building products
• High-efficiency Heating and Cooling
  • Geothermal Energy
  • Radiant Heating Systems
  • Solar Hot Water Systems
• Natural Flooring Options
• Green Living Space
• Green Buildings
• Feng Shui

Rebates and Incentives

If you live in the USA you can check for rebates:

Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency

Make Your House More Environment-friendly

Whether or not you buy into all the hype about green living, what you do with your house can make a large difference in the efficiency of the house and in the cost for heating and cooling. On the larger scope, your house can make a difference in the world around you. There are obvious steps that can be taken to make your house more environment-friendly, but perhaps some of the tips below are actions that are new to you. Determining how 'green' your home is depends on several different areas.

Planning

Before you even turn the first shovelful of dirt at the groundbreaking, you should be familiar with the land on which it will sit. In fact, some experts suggest that you spend a minimum of one year actually living on the site before building. That may seem like overkill to some people, but how else will you know where the summer sun strikes and whether the trees shade the house too much in the wintertime. As a minimum requirement, note where the shady areas are likely to be when the trees are fully leafed out. Knowing which directions the breezes or gale force winds come from is helpful.

Site Orientation

Once you have determined the basic characteristics of your building site, you can plan the way the building sits on the property. The orientation of the site is critical to an environmentally friendly house. A 'green' house is oriented so that the cold winds that typically come from the northwest are blocked. There should be a heavy wall on the northwest side of the house with fewer openings. On the southeast and south, there should be more openings so that solar heat can enter. You can block the sun angles which are steeper in the summer by the effective use of louvers and overhangs. This still allows the winter sun which has a lower angle to enter the house for winter time heating through passive solar methods.

Foundation

A pier foundation for the house will have less impact on the land on which it sits. It also facilitates air flow under the house. The additional benefit of a raised pier foundation is that there is need for less concrete in building the structure. This again reduces the impact on the land as well as on the mount of cost for construction of the house and foundation.

Building Configuration

The heavy wall should be to the north or northwest face and this is where the HVAC and plumbing lines should be placed. Open areas with ability to let in natural light are helpful to cut down artificial lighting needs. Sunlight can be filtered through blinds or louvers on days where the sun is too strong. Screens also help to blur the lines between indoors and outdoors, making the house appear much more spacious.

Materials

Rather than have materials shipped in to build the house you've chosen, why not use local building materials. The cost will be less to deliver the materials to your site, and the finished house will fit better from the standpoint of appearance. If there are few trees in the local area, choosing a redwood or cedar siding looks out of place. If the land has many granite boulders, why not consider a house that makes extensive use of stone? The other factor that has an impact on the materials in your house is the sustainability. Using foam core blocks for insulation means the insulation is effective, lightweight and less expensive than transporting other materials. Take advantage of materials available locally that are sustainable as well as efficient.

Solar panels

If you plan to use solar panels on the roof for part or all of your energy needs, choosing a southeast orientation of the building with the major slope of the roof facing to the southwest will give you the maximum benefit from the solar panels. The house will need to be sited in such a way as to prevent shade from trees, bushes, or nearby geographical features to shade the areas where you plan to take advantage of solar energy panels.

Water collection

The roof face opposite to the solar panels can be set up to collect rainwater. Some builders use the solar concept to preheat the house water which reduced the energy required to get hot water. The collected rainwater can be fitted with a rain barrel system or with a larger cistern where water can be stored until needed. Built-in filtration systems allow the gray water to be used for plant and livestock purposes which reduces the amount of water requirements overall.

Air flow

When the house is sited appropriately to take advantage of summer breezes while blocking winter icy blasts, the interior of the house should be kept as open as possible in order to facilitate the natural flow of air throughout the living space. Keep interior walls to a minimum. A relatively open floor plan will allow walls to be added when there is a desire or a need for privacy. Air flow is facilitated even further if windows and doors can be easily opened.

Technology

Rather than using old growth timber for everything, why not take advantage of some of the modern materials that technology has created in order to increase energy efficiency. For example, modern windows and doors have energy efficient features added to reduce energy loss without cutting back on appearance or visibility. Look for the best possible insulation and take advantage of space age heaters, solar heat or cooling equipment, water collection and reuse, as well as, wind power. Many of these technological advances were not available a few years ago, but are now being used in many of the newer housing units.

If you approach building a 'green' home with the desire to increase efficiency while reducing costs, your house will leave a smaller eco-footprint upon the earth.