What is Green Design for newly constructed homes?

It doesn’t take long to get used to the funny buzz words when you hang around green loving people. “Green Living”, “Green by Design” and “Green building”.

What is Green Design?

Green design is truly a component of green considerations in construction and interior design all in one. Green Design means we let the material drive the process of design. The notion of harmony with the planet and the community we live in. But most importantly it’s the sustainable material used in harmony with the mood and style of the room that we are designing.

Green design follows a few basic principles:

Architectural Design for energy efficiency- Before one starts building a home they should consult with a Green architect as to what would be the best architectural planning to create energy efficiency. From no or very few windows on the west side of the home to foam insulation and solar panels. For solar panels to be installed they have to face the south side of the home, to maximize the use of the sun energy. All these issues need to be addressed prior to starting construction. As an Austin green builder we recommend consulting with the respected professionals such as an architect to maximized energy savings and a water conservation company for these issues.

Use the least toxic material- A major element of green design is how it affects people’s quality of life, and when it comes to interiors it means the indoor air quality in their homes. What affects the indoor quality of their home pretty much depends on the material they use indoors from carpeting to the type of wood and of course paint. The issue of paint is appropriate since it is easiest to fix and inexpensive compared to carpeting and cabinetry. Most indoor paint stains and primers are known to have toxins which literally kill or damage living cells, some lead to various diseases such as cancer and Parkinson’s disease. Certainly, exterior paint has its affects too however, since people mostly live indoors and are exposed to it on a daily basis- the focus should be interior paint. Although not everyone that has been exposed to these developed these diseases the general approach should be why be exposed anyway?

There are many various products out there from non toxic primers to exterior and interior paints which can be used alternatively. Paints made from natural ingredients contain mostly water, plants dyes, plant oils and other naturals, are odorless and not toxic. Another option is Milk Paint made mostly milk protein and water. A good source of information for Green paint is your local Benjamin Moore store which has recently come out with their Natural product and Sherwin Williams’s Harmony. Both are Zero VOC paint within your reach.

Look for products that are recyclable- The use of metal roofs in Austin has increased tremendously. This is so because a metal roof according to Austin Energy is a radiant barrier recyclable material. A radiant barrier is a type of material which creates a barrier for heat and cold, thus preserving energy for the home, but at the same time is recyclable. Recyclable means that this roof could be used over and over again in the future. Austin energy provides a rebate system for the use of recyclable material. Used wood, barn wood, timbers from the industrial forest, floorboards and beams from older structures is perceived recyclable – because there is no need to recreate it or use energy to create it from scratch. By recycling used building materials there is no need for industry to recreate it. All of the energy that is spent in manufacturing and transporting something is thus saved. The wood, iron, and different raw form type of construction form that would be taken from the earth can be salvaged rather than created from new. If you have noticed the trends in metal roofs, recyclable wood, and the trend in reusing building material- it is because it is Green and many local energy rebate programs allow for rebates when such practices take effect. In fact, used wood and iron is more expensive than new; it will be up to the consumer to make the final decision whether it is worthwhile using from an economical perspective. But like many green products out there these days, their prices are relatively higher, but once they become more common and used by the general public, their prices will eventually drop down.

Obviously, there are other elements in green design not mentioned in this article. For newly constructed homes in Austin there is a star certification program assigned by Austin energy which rates the home Green from one star to five stars. For further information please consult with Austin Energy.

This article was written by Michelle Gilboa Lohr, an Austin Green Builder in Texas with GnM Lohr Homes Inc.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011 at 4:51 pm. It is filed under Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.