Archive for category Green Real Estate
Green Building Cost Feasibilities
The construction industry is one of the major resource consumers in the country, using up around 70% of the nation’s electricity resources every year. It is also a consistent top consumer of water and other resources, driven by the necessity of providing critical services to building occupants.
The building sector is also generating large amounts of harmful operational by-products and toxic emissions. Waste disposal and environmental pollution are always among the challenges faced by facility managers, because these can potentially and negatively affect the health and safety of human occupants.
The World’s Greenest Homes Use a Combination of Technologies
What do the world’s greenest homes sustain themselves on as far as generating power goes? Which of the green technologies that are out there are they running on? Which is the most efficient? Are they running completely on geothermal energy, using networks of pipes drawing off the Earth’s heat? Are they purely solar powered by means of both active and passive solar energy? Are they completely geared for running on the electricity provided by wind-powered turbines generating power for the home? Perhaps they are run by a water-wheel driven type of system for all of their power needs? Can you guess the answer?
Well, truly, the world’s greenest homes are those which actually put many angles off energy production to good use. For example, the heat and hot water could be provided through solar/geothermal means. With water coursing through a network of pipes driven into the ground, the Earth’s heat can be transferred to the water running within the pipes which is then circulated throughout the house to supply hot water and also a bit of heat, while the passive solar energy heats up the home as well through strategic window placement and the use of insulated double or triple paned glass windows.
ENERGY STAR Builders
To become a qualified ENERGY STAR builder, a builder must construct a home that meets energy efficiency guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. These houses must be at least 15% more energy efficient than homes built to the 2004 International Residential Code (IRC), and contain additional efficient saving features that typically make new homes 20-30% more efficient than standard homes.
The ENERGY STAR label identifies a house having passed all efficiency guidelines. Builders realize that homebuyers are increasingly interested in the value of green homes and efficiency is the place to start. This is because the energy used to run the house is often from the burning of fossil fuels from power plants. The burning of fossil fuels contributes to smog, acid rain, and risks of global warming. That is why it is so important to use less energy which equals less air pollution. With these benefits, many homes builders are choosing to partner with ENERGY STAR. The best way to make sure a house is efficient is to look for the blue ES label, which is the government-backed symbol for efficiency.