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Green Building
Understanding Green Building
Photo caption Amy Castelli
Hannah Bartoletta Homes
TBBA Green Building Committee Chairman
Welcome to the first of many articles on the emerging topic of “Green Building”. With so much hype on green building it’s hard to know where to begin. Over the last few years green building has been a lot more prevalent in the press. However, people are still confused about what it entails and how to get started. The days have passed when green building was thought of as an extreme building with a grass covered roof.
What is green building? Green built homes utilize a variety of environmentally safe construction methods and products, use less energy, water and natural resources; create less waste; and are healthier for it’s occupants. Green building strives to improve our design and construction practices so the buildings we build today will last longer and reduce the overall impact to the environment. Green building requires thorough planning, thoughtful design and quality construction.
Green building does not just encompass one element such as energy savings; its sole concept is to make sure that the systems of the home function together. This concept is important to understand when analyzing a project. A change in one part of the house system will impact other parts. A simple example would be the addition of more windows to a structure. If the HVAC system calculations are not re- calculated based on this addition, the end result could be a unit that may not cool/heat the structure efficiently. There should be little cost in confirming that the units are sized correctly. There are many techniques and products available to help achieve green building goals. Through most of my research I have found that there are several elements that need to be considered when building a green home.
Energy Savings – energy savings can be achieved on a structure by insulation methods, proper sizing of HVAC equipment, using energy star appliances and lighting to name just a few.
Water Conservation – low flow plumbing fixtures, water saving appliances, drought tolerant turf and plants/ trees that are compatible with local environment.
Material Selection - use materials that come from recycled or sustainable resources and locally produced materials.
Health = Indoor Air Quality – many of the products used in homes contain VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) VOC’s naturally evaporate from lumber, drywall, paints, sealants and many other building products, inhalation of these chemicals are unpleasant. Choose products that limit the amount of VOC’s. Central vacuum systems allow for dust to be removed from the home keeping the air much cleaner. Making sure the air ducts are protected during construction is another simple way to incorporate green building techniques.
A common mis-conception has been that green building costs more and is not suitable for affordable housing and only custom builders can offer the benefits. Recent studies have shown that the initial costs to building green actually lower operating costs over the life of the home. With more products entering into the market that have been built according to green standards, it is much easier to implement green building techniques. The good news is there are already many employing green technologies and techniques without knowing it. Look at how your company is working and take some time to analyze your impact on our built environment. There are a number of green programs both at local and national levels that can help you get started. To find out more visit http://www.tbba.net/www.USGBC.org; http://www.tbba.net/www.floridagreenbuilding.org; http://www.tbba.net/www.nahbgreen.org.
I encourage you to get involved. Green building is not a trendy fashion statement - it is here to stay. Over the next few years with continued rising energy costs, more buyers will expect it. Watch for education courses provided by the TBBA on green building in the coming months. The TBBA Green Committee meets the first Monday of every month at 3pm in the TBBA 1st floor conference room; join us as we continue to move into the green evolution.
Amy Castelli is the Design Manager of Hannah Bartoletta Homes and is currently serving as the Green Building Committee Chair Person for the TBBA. Amy has over 10 years in the custom home building industry. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Interior Design from the International Academy of Design & Technology and a bachelor’s degree in speech communications from the University of South Florida
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