One area of research that they have excelled at is Low Impact Development. They have create a Technical Manual on Low Impact Development (LID) which is a must read. It talks about the different types of LID which can be used in New and current developments to control storm water. Many of these techniques can be used to REPLACE those large ugly detention ponds.

What is “Green” in the construction industry? I don’t think I can give each person an exact answer, but I can ask some questions that may help answer individuals questions.

• Is it energy efficient (or adds energy efficiency)?
• Is the ‘embodied energy’ low?
• Does the air quality remain high?
• Does a higher cost mean it will last longer? In other words a lower cost overall since it lasts longer and does not need to be repaired or installed. An example is a high quality metal roof. It has a high cost but lasts longer than an asphalt roof (and looks better).

Just some examples to think about.

*Buildings Account for 48% of CO2 emissions in the United States —more than either the transportation or industrial sectors, and over the next 25 years, CO2 emissions from buildings are projected to grow faster than any other sector.

*Buildings consume 70% of the electricity load in the U.S.

*The U.S. population and economy are projected to grow significantly over the coming decades, increasing the need for new buildings – to meet this demand, approximately 15 million new buildings are projected to be constructed by 2015.

• Green Washing - Making an items seem ‘greener’ than it really is. In this day and age there are lots of ‘marketing’ schemes being used to make people think they are helping the environment. One item to consider if you are taking ‘too much’ from the environment, is how much embodied energy are you using.
• Embodied Energy - is the total energy it takes to create an item or product. So how much ‘total’ energy does it take to make a dime? Does it cost 10 cents? Really? Or does it cost more, but because it lasts longer, the total energy is less. Think of it in terms of socks. I can go to a big chain outlet (no names please) and spend $5 on 8 pairs of socks. But they only last a year. Or I can go and spend $5 per pair of socks and they last 5 years (or more and still be comfortable). So which on uses more energy? Really the you need to count how many times you went to the store plus the energy used to make the additional socks, how far did it travel, etc. There are a lot of variables and they all ad up to more energy and more money.
• Fly Ash – A by product of a coal fired plant. Is coal the best energy source? Maybe not. But we have many around the country and there is one in Centralia, WA. Does it make sense to just scrap it? I am not sure about that. What about it’s fly ash? Where does it go? Right now most of it is stockpiled. Where can it go? It can be added to concrete (locally in Washington). It is a great additive. Plus it does not then end up in land fills.
• Sustainable Development – think smart and be responsible. What happens with the wildlife, the water flow, etc when development comes into an area. I believe we should be responsible and develop in a sustainable manner. The earth is not getting bigger and so far as I know it. We only have one planet that we can live on. We better take care of it.

Technorati Tags: green living, remodel, remodeling, construction, lid

More and more homes are being ‘super insulated’. What is this you ask? It is insulation that is above code and provides for the best energy efficiency. If you heat and cool a home that is super insulated, you are only changing the temperature a few degrees. In older homes and standard construction, your temperatures are more drastic due to the heat loss. 8 inches, 12 inches, even 18 inches of insulation may not be enough to keep you home from drastically changing in temperatures.

Some methods being used for Superinsulation are SIPs (Structural Insulated Panels), ICF (Insulated Concrete Forms) and double 2×4 or 2×6 construction with standard insulation (fiberglass or foam). Now each has their own benefits and disadvantages. But in the long run the Superinsulation is a better solution than to just follow ‘code’.

I will cover each of these techniques in later blogs.

How much energy does you home use?