Wo-Built Inc: Clients' Advocate for making their Dream Home happen: Going Green in the City: Building and Renovating with "Being Green" in Mind: Part 1

Thursday, 9 July 2009

Going Green in the City: Building and Renovating with "Being Green" in Mind: Part 1

Wobuilt: Going Green in the City: Building and Renovating with Being Green in Mind

Collage: Going Green in the City:
Building and Renovating with "Being Green" in Mind
Credit: MS Office

Part 1: Eco-Friendly Home Improvements

With escalating energy costs, concerns about global warming and efforts to preserve our dwindling natural resources there is a growing trend towards "going green". Most of us recycle; have stopped using incandescent bulbs and buy energy efficient appliances. But how does "going green" affect our homes? Does this mean we should all move to a cabin in the woods and live off the land to preserve our natural resources? Highly impractical and not a viable option for most of us, but there are things we can do to make our homes more eco-friendly and preserve our lifestyles at the same time.

As we are all becoming more aware of our environment, we are finding more and more ways of building and renovating with being "green" in mind. Generally, a "green" home will produce less wastage, less energy and less water, use fewer natural resources and offer better air quality for the people living inside.

Some of the features a green home will include are:
Energy-efficient appliances;
Water efficient faucets;
Better ductworks and air filtration systems;
Low-emissive windows (which keep heat from filtering in or out of the windows: for better insulation purposes windows are sealed tightly so that air doesn’t escape from the house or enter during the cold winter months driving heating cost up.)
Incorporating rooftop solar systems is another option to lower energy costs;
Skylights allow for more natural light;
Installation of thermal windows would allow for more efficient temperature control therefore reducing energy costs.

Oh, by the way, even paint used on the walls is often environmentally friendly because it contains more organic compounds than what was traditionally used.

We at Wo-Built always consider some of the measures in our designs and please stay tuned for our series on energy efficient solutions.

Lonya is the staff writer for Wo-Built Inc.