Category — Green Building

Green Buildings Introduction
The design, construction, and maintenance of buildings has a tremendous impact on our environment and our natural resources. There are more than 76 million residential buildings and nearly 5 million commercial buildings in the U.S. today. These buildings together use one-third of all the energy consumed in the U.S., and two-thirds of all electricity. Looking forward the challenge will be to build smarter, use less nonrenewable energy while increasing the comfort, health, and safety of the people who live and work in them.

Traditional building practices often overlook the interrelationships between a building, its components, its surroundings, and its occupants. “Typical” buildings consume more of our resources than necessary, negatively impact the environment, and generate a large amount of waste. According to Laurence Doxsey, former Coordinator of the City of Austin Green Builder Program, “a standard wood-framed home consumes over one acre of forest and the waste created during construction averages from 3 to 7 tons.” Often, these buildings are costly to operate in terms of energy and water consumption. And they can result in poor indoor air quality, which can lead to health problems.

There are many opportunities to make buildings cleaner. As just one example, if only 10 percent of homes in the U.S. used solar water-heating systems, we would avoid 8.4 million metric tons of carbon emissions each year.

Green building practices offer an opportunity to create environmentally-sound and resource-efficient buildings by using an integrated approach to design. Green buildings promote resource conservation, including energy efficiency, renewable energy, and water conservation features; consider environmental impacts and waste minimization; create a healthy and comfortable environment; reduce operation and maintenance costs; and address issues such as historical preservation, access to public transportation and other community infrastructure systems. The entire life-cycle of the building and its components is considered, as well as the economic and environmental impact and performance.

More and more designers, builders, and building owners are becoming interested and involved in green building. National and local programs encouraging green building are growing and reporting successes, while hundreds of demonstration projects and private buildings across the country provide tangible examples of what green building can accomplish in terms of comfort, aesthetics, and energy and resource efficiency.

Welcome to our new website!

We are excited about sharing our research, opinions, and real world experiences. We do not claim to be the “Guru’s” of Green, Healthy, Sustainable, Hi Performance building…or whatever term you can relate to our goals are simple: Be a resource center for what we call “Building a Better Mousetrap”.

“Shades of Green” is our way of saying there are many ways to build better structures. Building “Green” as many call it is not accomplished with ONE product that will magically give you the best house your $$ can buy. It is an accumulation of well thought out plans with a purpose.

Consider the location and how you can work with nature rather than against for instance. As a friend says this is “Building Science”, not “Rocket Science”. We take the big picture approach and look at the entire building as a whole. Do you live in a high humidity zone as we do here in the Upstate of South Carolina? For us moisture must be taken seriously. Mold and mildew will destroy a home if not dealt with properly. Just because you cannot see it does not mean it isn’t there! These are just a few examples of questions that should be asked before you begin building or remodeling.

Whether you are planning to repaint your house with a No V.O.C paint or go OFF GRID with a house that produces more energy than it uses, it can be accomplished without breaking the bank. You may have an unlimited budget, or have a tight budget. Whatever the case we know there are practical and pragmatic ways to achieve your Dream Home.

We know there will be many people who find our site that know much more about this industry than we do, if so please contact us and let’s work together. Have you built an energy efficient house? Do you work in an office that was designed to provide more day-lighting and the best indoor air quality?

On the other side of the equation are you living in a home or working in an office that is literally making you sick? Do you feel tired all the time? Does the thought of your utility bill becoming equal to your mortgage payment sometime in the not too distant future keep you awake at night? Hope could be just a click away!

Your comments and helpful hints are more than welcome. We view this as a unique opportunity to impact in a direct and positive way how we live, work, and play. The construction business is a HUGE part of our economy without a doubt. However, at the end of the day we know there are families whose homes may be a burden from an economic and health standpoint. We CAN change that fact!!

Thank you for visiting,

Sincerely, David H. Root Sr.

A few weeks ago, I was approached by Bruce Wood at Sunstore Solar Solutions to perform an energy audit on their office in Greer, SC. Bruce wanted to set an example for his clients about the importance of weatherization and home performance. These guys have been successfully advocating, marketing and installing renewable energy equipment for years and I wondered what I could tell them that they did not already know. Nevertheless, I gathered up my Blower Door, Duct-blaster and digital camera and went to work.Sunstore operates in a 1200 square foot 2br 1ba brick house that is about 10 years old. You’d think a neat, little house like that would be tight and efficient- you would, of course, be wrong. After measuring the exterior and the windows and doors, I ventured into the crawlspace- a typical home energy trouble spot. Here’s what I found:

I estimated that at least 30% of the insulation was falling out of the joist cavities. This happens when moisture laden crawlspace air is absorbed by the fiberglass. The insulation simply becomes too wet and heavy to remain in place. Have you been in your crawlspace lately? If it looks anything like this, you’re throwing away your energy dollars. Make sure any exposed earth is covered with durable poly covering and that it is sealed at the seams and to the wall with mastic. It might be a good idea to consider the sealed crawlspace option. Visit www.eere.energy.gov for detailed information about air-sealing and insulating measures in your crawlspace and throughout the home.

Inside the home, I discovered additional energy problems. I noted many holes in the sturcture through plumbing and electrical penetrations. These holes and gaps added together are easily equal an open door or window, allowing conditioned air to escape and dirty, unconditioned air to rush in. These gaps are often easily sealed with caulk or foam. Explore the home improvement tab at www.energystar.gov for great air-sealing tips.

The attic, another typical trouble spot, continued the pattern. Unsealed gaps between conditioned space, improperly installed insulation and an unsealed and uninsulated attic hatch were all documented.

Remember, these folks sell solar! They are acutely aware of energy conservation measures. The audit uncovered simple, common problems that promote unnecessary energy consumption and that WASTE YOUR MONEY. When I modeled the home in my residential energy software I discovered that, when these simple improvements were made, Sunstore would reduce energy spending by as much as 20%! The repairs would also reduce harmful carbon emissions by 15%! Not bad for a day’s work…

WHERE: The Buyer’s Agent, 37 Montford Ave Asheville, NC

WHEN: Thursday, March 13th from 5:00pm to 7:30pm

AGENDA:
This workshop will explore the concept of “weatherizing” the building envelope of existing homes. Topics covered will include weatherstripping, air sealing older windows and doors, insulation, duct sealing, maximizing the efficiency of your current heating system and more.

Carl Donovan is founder and president of Conservation Pros, an Asheville-based Building Performance Contracting Firm that specializes in energy efficiency retrofits for existing homes.

COST: FREE for WNCGBC members, $5 for non-members

REGISTER AND MORE INFO:
Contact Candice Black of WNCGBC:
ph. 828-254-1995 or

Spaces limited, please RSVP to candice@wncgbc.org

Check out one of our latest vendors, Rostick Energy Solutions. Energy Raters are an important part of building an efficient home.