In the last few weeks we have visited about High Performance Homes (HPH) energy efficient windows & doors, & insulation. To look at the meaning behind "Building Green"', let us start with our original definition of a High Performance Home. A High Performance Homes is one that uses sustainable materials, is energy efficient, & uses value added, green building practices, that causes it to be friendlier to the environment.

The benefits to owners of an HPH are;

? More Comfortable & Quieter- Tight construction, better windows, & improved insulation ensure consistent temperatures & keep out excessive noise.
? Lower Maintenance- Enjoy the peace of mind that comes with a low maintenance home. Tight construction & long lasting, efficient equipment make these homes more durable, helping to reduce many of the maintenance problems found in typical homes.
? Healthier & Safer- Your family will breathe easier in a tightly constructed & proper ventilated home that works to reduce dust, pollen, & pests.
? More Energy & Resource Efficient- Lower utility bills, & the good feeling that you're doing something to help fight global warming

All of that is part of Green building, but let me expand the list to better explicate the term.

Materials:

? Readily available materials, manufactured close to the jobsite. An example would be James Hardie Siding that is manufactured in Cleburne, Texas as opposed to some bricks from Georgia. It seems silly to attempt to build earth friendly homes & then buy materials shipped from another state or country & burden the ecology with pollutants from shipping.

? Renewable materials. Right. Wood is the best choice for framing. Do you follow? The industry is currently planting far more trees than it's harvesting & with the newer engineered wood products young growth trees can be often used with little or no waste. And so... Steel framing requires a big nasty foot print on the ecology & even though it's recyclable, you are not likely to tear down a steel framed house to get at the material. Also steel framing conducts heat (revisit what we said about insulation last week).

? Sustainable materials. Building homes with materials that have a long life cycle relative to cost, again Hardie siding comes to mind.

? Energy efficient windows & doors as discussed the week before last.

? Right sized HVAC systems. A system that is too big does not cycle long enough to pull out the moisture buildup in a home & one that is too small just does not cool 8) well enough. All HVAC contractors have the manual J that helps them come up with the right size. The old method of using 500 square  feet of floor space to a ton of AC is out of date.

Site management:
? Control storm water runoff per government requirements
? Plant trees, Plant trees, Plant trees, Plant trees,
? Jobsite recycling

Water Efficiency
? Low flow valves in showers
? Water efficient toilets
? Drought tolerant landscaping
? Pex piping. Once you have used the new pex water pipes, you'll never go back to copper.

Energy Efficiency
? Energy Star certified. The homes we build are 5 Star plus, the highest rating.
? Proper orientation of the home. Minimize windows on the East & West & shade windows where possible.
? Insulate the roof instead of the attic.

Finally educate the homeowner about maintenance & energy efficiency.

This is only a partial list. I am thinking there're those of you out there that could add to it & I would love to hear from you… Email or call me. And so... See the contact information below.

Next week. We take a break from home construction & a look at some new ideas for land developments. Here is a question for you… Which major city in the United States has the lowest impact on the environment per capita?

For comments about this article contact Ronnie Godfrey at RGodfreyHomes.com.

Copyright 2007

Ronnie Godfrey, Certified Graduate Builder For lots more information about this article & other energy saving tips, visit out website http://www.RGodfreyHomes.com