So you've heard all this talk about "green building," but you have no idea what that means or where to start. Green remodeling is another approach to conventional remodeling with the goal of not only making your home look better, but also less detrimental for the environment and your wallet. If you want to have a healthier looking home, have lower utility bills, and contribute to a cleaner planet, then green remodeling is the way to go.
Green flooring
Creating a healthier home involves designs that allow more sunlight to fill a room. Proper planning for ventilation and safety are other benefits of green building. Additional materials for health conscious homeowners include recyclable flooring materials or materials that are manufactured either entirely or in part by recycled materials (i.e. tile, stone, concrete, natural linoleum, laminate engineered flooring). The use of these materials in your building project helps to protect your family from dangerous chemicals, like asbestos and chlorine that are found in conventional vinyl flooring.
Water wise designs
Lowering your utility bills can be simple through the use of water-wise and efficient toilets, shower fixtures, sink faucets, etc. While choosing these water-wise components, be sure to invest in one that is durable, aesthetically pleasing, and allows for easier maintenance and longer use. Older toilets can be extremely inefficient, using as much as five gallons per flush (GPF), while newer models expend only 1.6 GPF. You can check the GPF behind the seat hinges of the toilet. An old shower head can use over five gallons of water per minute, while new water-wise shower heads focus a stream of water, which results in a powerful blast of only 2 gallons of water per minute. Kitchen and bathroom sink faucets may be the most heavily used water fixtures in the home, so being water-wise is important. Durability and lifetime warranties are essential when purchasing kitchen and bathroom faucets. Look for models that are equipped with ceramic disc valves, which are much stronger and easily replaceable, in comparison to their rubber and plastic counterparts. Remember to look for faucets that include aerating devices (similar to those found on newer shower heads), which split the flow of water into smaller jets while aerating the flow to add more pressure.
Energy efficient designs
In addition to water-wise designs, energy efficient designs for light fixtures, skylights, sun tunnels, water heaters, central A/C and heating devices, and proper insulation all contribute to green building. Energy efficient fluorescent lights use a maximum of 26Watts, while incandescent lights use up to 160Watts. Newer light fixtures also take placement and properly sized lights into consideration, which allow for proper illumination rather than overexposure and wasteful consumption of energy. For a purely natural light source, consider an operable skylight, which can serve as a ventilation source as well, reducing the potential for mold and mildew build-up.
An alternative to skylights are sun-tunnels, which can easily be installed between roof joists. Sun-tunnels capture, amplify, and disperse natural sunlight into a room, without creating a gaping hole in the ceiling that skylights do. Newer sun-tunnels even come fitted with an internal fluorescent light, which can be switched on during the night, where no natural sunlight is available. The most effective way to reduce energy consumption in your home is to upgrade your water heater to a newer, more efficient model, proper positioning to minimize the distance hot water needs to travel before reaching its outlet destination, or considering other water heating options, such as hot water circulation, on-demand/direct hot water, or solar energy heated water.
While doing an upgrade, one should seriously consider upgrading the air conditioning (A/C) and heating units. Older A/C and heating units may be terribly inefficient, while newer units use regulating devices to operate at more efficient rates. Proper duct work can also add to the efficiency and health of your home. A dirty duct system not only reduces the efficiency of your units, but may also introduce allergens and other bacterial spores into your home.
Last, but not least, insulation and air-gap sealing are an extremely important part in your home remodel. Insulating receptacle gaps, windows, exterior walls, under-floors, attics, and wrapping hot water pipes play important roles in energy conservation. You should discuss your insulation options with a contractor. Remember that remodeling is an opportunity to upgrade your home without depleting the environment. It is an opportunity to create a home that is more efficient, minimizes waste, and doesn’t add to the recent spike in landfill waste.
(image: Wikimedia Commons)
|
|
