7 Reasons You Should Build Green
Building Green is no longer a Luxury, it's a SAVINGS!
Joe and Karen had a few surprises over the winter holidays. Happily they found out they were pregnant, a welcome addition to the family. They also received their heating bill for the cold snap earlier in the month. "Ow!" a startled Joe moaned to Karen: "We've got to do something about this situation: the house is old, it will soon be too small and the heating and cooling is eating us up." "This carpet is really dirty, I just can't get it clean" lamented Karen. "Well, we could either fix up this house, there's that unused yard space that we could expand into, or maybe we could build a new home, one that really works for us. We need to think about our families and community future," continued Karen.
"Sounds like we need some help with these ideas, and to learn more about our options", concluded Joe. "And, we have to stay within our budget!" "So began their exploration into the world of building "green".
Joe and Karen ended up at my office where we discussed the major benefits of building green and addressed some of their concerns. "We've been talking, and the big picture of this project is whatever we do, it has to work for us in the 21st century: energy efficient, healthy, local and cost effective. It's time to focus on what a home should do for us as a family, community, nation and globe."
This story is very similar to some past clients' situations. So what is green building and why should a family do it?
- Green building is a method of building that goes beyond the looks and square footage of the project and takes into account energy efficiency, the environmental impacts of building and more advanced design ideas. There are many reasons to incorporate the ideas of green building from personal budget to health issues to climate change. Green can mean something different to every person and comes in many shades, so part of the process is to decide the priorities of the project. Many elements of the process don't have to add to the cost; they just need to be thought of in a different way and brought in earlier.
- What are the main aspects of GREEN BUILDING? Expanding on these concepts we find that there are ways to save money and have a greener project.
1. INTEGRATED DESIGN: By designing a project with a focus on the customer's needs, building a home that is modest in size and has a room for multiple functions is a big benefit. By bringing in the subcontractors and suppliers early in the project and having them suggest ways of being more efficient, a more integrated and effective building can be put together and still be very livable. Integration also incorporates the concept of community. How does the project fit into the neighborhood, transportation, and resources? This process does require time and some cost in design, but that cost can usually be recouped during construction. This is true both for new construction and for renovation/addition projects.
2. SITE/BUILDING ORIENTATION: When laying out a building on the site it is important to factor in the energy from the sun. Sometimes this is free heat, other times it translates to cooling costs. The same can be said about rain and runoff on the site. By designing a building to respond to these elements, performance can be enhanced and long term costs reduced. Roof orientation can lead to the opportunity for energy production, as another example.
3. ENVELOPE: The physical parts of the exterior of the building come into play. The shape of the building: how the walls, floors and roof are built, combined with the size and position of the windows, roof overhangs and insulation, all come into play and have a significant impact on the building's energy needs. A heavy timber structure can help disentangle the insulation system from the structural components, thereby improving the performance and enhancing the natural beauty of the space.
4. ENERGY, WATER and SYSTEMS: By designing a more efficient shell and orientation, the demand for heating and cooling should be greatly reduced. This leads to smaller heating and cooling systems, and therefore reduces upfront costs, along with lower operating costs. Keeping the heating system within the insulated envelope can save 15-20% of heat. Lighting can be designed to use less electricity. How water is managed in a building is becoming a very important and complicated process. From a basic use standpoint, reducing the needs of a household can save money. On a nationwide level the average use per person is 70 gallons per day. By careful selection of fixtures, showers, toilets, washing machines and landscaping, this can be reduced by up to 50%, thereby reducing the costs of buying and disposing of water. On a more detailed level, managing water vapor in the building and walls is extremely important to the health of the family as well as to the long term durability of the home.
Right now there are tax incentives for energy efficient homes and components; some federal programs offer up to $2000.00, and there are others that can recoup 30% of some costs. There are state incentives for power generation, between 12 cents to over 50 cents per KWH.
5. MATERIALS: What to use, where products come from and how much is needed are very important parts of the process. Should some be recycled products? Recycled materials are in ample supply, so the answer varies from project to project, affected also by the goals of the project. Local products require less shipping and can be maintained easier. What are they made of? Do they contain ingredients that may cause allergic reactions, or may not be healthy for a family or the environment? Buying local materials can impact the economy and financial health of the region. By purchasing products through locally owned companies, something like 45% of the money stays local; more if the product itself is local, not to mention reduced transportation costs and shipping times. By going through a national chain store, about 15%-20% of the sale stays local. The durability of the materials selected can have an impact on the long term costs of the building. Lesser quality materials need to be replaced sooner, even before the mortgage is paid off. Using high quality materials reduces maintenance costs, saving time and money.
6. WASTE MANAGEMENT: Getting rid of extra/waste materials is becoming more difficult as well as less necessary. By designing a structure on a {24" module}??, structural waste can be reduced. There is a fairly strong market for building with "salvage" materials, so there may be no cost to "redirect" those. Durable products don't have to be moved into the waste stream.
7. HEALTH AND SAFETY: The family's physical health is always top priority. This is harder to put a monetary value on because of the wide areas of impacts. Asthma and allergies are some typical areas to address, and you can move on from there. But if a home is built with healthy materials and air quality is maintained, many issues can be reduced. If physical barriers can be reduced, the home has a much wider range of use, both for temporary issues and lifestyle factors.
Green homes will be more in demand in the future. Already there are some green classifications in the real estate listings. A greener home can help reduce the impacts of our lifestyles, both environmentally and financially.
An integrated design process is where the greatest leverage is. Bringing all these points together in the beginning and coming up with a combined strategy ascertains where the most money can be saved.
The topics of discussion can get deeper: True energy costs, energy supplies, carbon footprints, greenhouse gases, international trade, local economies, indoor air quality, transportation, water supplies, etc. all effect a home building or improvement project.
Joe and Karen really liked the neighborhood they were in and wanted to take advantage of their large lot size, so their decision was to add a nice timbered expansion to their existing home. It should provide a healthy and cost efficient home to raise their family and create less impact globally - even future families should benefit from the reduced impacts of the project.
andcopy; 2008 Chuck Dougherty / Synergy Design Group. Synergy Design Group, based in Vancouver, Wa, is dedicated to environmentally and client sensitive design projects with 24 years of timber frame projects. Visit www.timberframedesign.com, or call 360.356.1801