7 Reasons You Should Build Green.
Building Green is no Longer a Luxury, it's a Saver
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. "Oow!" a startled Joe moaned to Karen: "We've got to do something about this situation: the house is old, 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" quipped 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 we really works for us. We need to think about our family's 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 also have to stay in 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 what ever 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 family, the 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 more advanced design ideas, energy efficiency and the environmental impacts of building. There are many reasons to incorporate the ideas of green building, from personal budget, health issues, to climate change issues.
- Green can mean something different to every person and comes in many shades, so part of the process is to decide, what are 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 differently 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 customers needs, building a home that is modest in size and has a room that can have multiple functions is a benefit. By bringing in the sub contractors 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 for both new construction and for renovation/addition projects.
2. SITE/BUILDING ORIENTATION: When laying out a building on the site it is important to respond to the the energy from the sun. Sometimes this is free heat, other times it is too much. Same can be said about the rain and runoff on the site. By designing a building to respond to these factors, performance can be enhanced and long term costs reduced. Roof orientation can lead to the opportunity for energy production.
3. ENVELOPE: Then the physical parts of the exterior of the building start to 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 dis-entangle 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 house can save money. On a nationwide level the average use per person is 70 gallons per day. By looking at the fixtures, showers, toilets, washing machines and landscaping, this can be reduced maybe 50%. Therefore for the costs of buying and disposing the 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 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 other 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? Recycled materials a extremely vaiable in supply, so that varies from project to project, and what the projects goals are. 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 though locally owned companies, something like 45% of the money stays local; more if the product is local also. By going through a national chain store, about 15%-20% of the sale stays local. Not to mention the reduced transportation costs and shipping times. The durability of the materials selected can have an impact on the long term costs of the building. Low quality materials need to be replaced sooner, even before the 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 getting more difficult, expensive, environmentally demanding and also 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 range 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 in more demand in the future. Already there are some classifications in the real estate listing programs. A greener home can help reduce the impacts of our life styles, both environmentally and financially.
An integrated design process is where the greatest leverage point is. Bringing all these points together in the beginning and coming up with a combined strategy is where the most money can be saved .
The topics of discussion can get deeper: True energy costs, energy supplies, Carbon footprints, Green House Gases, international trade, local economies, indoor air quality, transportation, water supplies, etc. All of them effect a home building or improvement project.
Joe and Karen really liked the neighborhood they were in, and wanted to take advantage of the large lot size, so decided to add a nice timbered expansion to their existing home. It should provide a healthy and cost efficient home to raise their family, be less impact on the globe, and future families should benefit from the reduced impacts of the project.
©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
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