The concept is well-known these days. There are appliances that use a standard amount of electricity or fuel for their operation, and then there are those that use less. For example, dishwashers that qualify for the Energy Star distinction use at least 41 percent less energy than the federal minimum standard for energy consumption by regular models.
A compact fluorescent lightbulb will use about 11–15 watts to produce the same 900 lumens of light a 60-watt incandescent lightbulb uses.Purchasing an energy-efficient appliance or lightbulb is as easy as looking for the Energy Star sticker, but you don’t have to stop there. A home can be made more energy efficient in relatively easy and passive ways as well.
Choosing white shingles with a high reflective quality for your new roof can reduce solar gain and cut cooling costs in the summer. Low-e or triple-paned windows can help keep a home well insulated and lower the burden on your furnace. Installing motion sensors instead of light switches for external lights can save enough electricity, and therefore money, that they can pay for themselves within a matter of months.
Getting a home to be more energy efficient could be as simple as maintaining weatherstripping around entry doors, but to really get to the next level of energy savings, homeowners set their sights higher.
Introduction to Green Building
The first step in being a savvy shopper is to understand what you hope to achieve with your "green" building project. Are you trying to fight global warming, wean the nation from foreign energy dependence, reduce your monthly energy bills, or simply do your part to help the environment? Once you understand your goals, getting the right materials to help you succeed means understanding how not all greens are alike.
Over the coming years, as pressure mounts to reduce carbon emissions, conserve water, and lower energy use, more and more products will be labeled green. To be sure, manufacturers, distributors, and big-box home improvement centers realize that going green is good business. As a consumer, by clearly defining your building goals and paying attention to the fine print, you can make sure your project ends up the right shade of green.
Today, most progressive home-building products and technologies can be grouped into one of four major categories: energy efficient, high performance, green, and sustainable. While these labels often share some of the same attributes, understanding the difference between each is important.
High-Performance Green Building
The term "high performance" is usually reserved for sports cars, but homes can also have a high-performance side, and, like a racecar, it all revolves around results.
Most homes in this category are built from the ground up, which allows for system-engineered design and quality-controlled construction.
The key to a high-performance home is that all the major systems within the home work together to create a comfortable and healthy living environment that operates on an elevated level of energy efficiency and building durability.
One aspect of this is that the HVAC system is sized specifically for the home and that register supply and return vents are placed to most effectively heat and cool a room.
Every aspect of the home’s energy use is taken into account. It’s a pretty heady goal, but with today's advances in building science, design, and technology, high-performance homes are being built at a rapid rate across the country.
Common elements of a high-performance home include:
- An airtight, moisture-managed, and well-insulated building
- Manifold plumbing systems
- Climate control "zones" throughout the house
- Performance testing at each stage of the building process
Unfortunately, turning your existing home into a super-charged high-performance home can be difficult. Imagine trying to get a 1977 Chevy Nova up to the performance specs of a 2012 Corvette. It may be possible, but it's not really practical.
However, there are plenty of lessons to be learned from high-performance homes, like performing a blower-door test to uncover major air leaks in the building envelope or making sure your ducts are cleaned and sealed to improve the HVAC system performance.
If you are looking to really conserve energy, a high-performance home may be your ticket, but low power bills are only one aspect of green.
Sustainable Green Building
The ultimate goal of going green is to create a sustainable lifestyle locally and globally. In today’s eco-conscious economy, the term sustainable is replacing green in many investment portfolios and marketing campaigns.
Though the two terms mean basically the same thing, the concept of sustainability in the home goes a step further than green by demanding that the home operate at a standard higher than high performance.
Besides being super efficient in energy and natural resource consumption, sustainable takes into account the lifecycle of the home in context of the lifecycle of the planet.
In short, to build a sustainable home you have to meet the needs of today without hurting the chances for future generations to meet the needs of their time.
Some aspects of a sustainable building are:
- Zero-energy use through onsite power generation from solar panels or wind turbines
- Water collection and recycling, including gray water
- Healthy, comfortable, inviting living spaces
Like green, sustainable also takes into account the human element. A critical part of sustainable building is to not sacrifice comfort or aesthetics along the way. Indoor air quality is important, but so are things that create a more livable space like views and lighting. Creating a home that is sustainable can seem daunting, but you can start the process simply by planting native grasses in your yard or researching the possibility of adding a solar panel to your home.
Case Study: NEXTHouse
Perched on a quiet Seattle hillside, a very special house looks far beyond the distant Cascade Mountains—into the future.
Dubbed “NEXTHouse” by its forward-thinking creator, Seattle architect David Vandervort, this handcrafted house fuses Northwest Modern lines with environmentally sustainable building technologies, features, and finishes. It is designed to be healthyfor both its inhabitants and the planet. Among the features and technologies the home demonstrates:
- An eco room combines waterproof membranes with living garden growth.
- Photovoltaic panels on the roof provide a solid measure—about 30% under Seattle’s cloudy skies—of electricity needs.
- High-effciency hydronic radiant floorng and wall warm the house comfortably.
- Air-to-air heat exchangers save energy and clean the air with HEPA filters.
- Certified lumber, recycled siding, and Cedar Rainscreen siding provide environmentally responsible construction.
- Interior finishes utilize natural fiber wool Berber carpets, certified White Tigerwood flooring, high-quality water-based finishes, and low VOC paint.
For more about NEXTHouse, visit Vandervort.com
or contact David Vandervort Architects AIA at 206-784-1614.
