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"Green" Eco-Friendly Building

By
Home Inspector with Pillar To Post Professional Home Inspection

Recently a contest was put out here on AR asking us to list the Top 5 "green" eco-friendly items if money were no object, http://activerain.com/blogsview/300156/1-Points-Brad-Pitt

I thought this was a great idea and decided to write a blog on it.  I have already somewhat thought about it for when I build my "dream" house (whenever that is).

So here are the top 5 items I would do to make a "green" house if money were not an issue:

1. Use foam insulation that conforms to the surface and fills all air gaps.  If the entire country used this insulation, it is estimated that $2.58 billion annually would be saved in energy costs.

2. Use triple glazed vinyl windows that are at least 1-inch thick between the first and third window pane.  This would save the U.S. an estimated 2-trillion BTU's annually (for standard vinyl window, even more for triple glazed windows).

3. Have solar panels installed that are not only efficient, but aesthetically pleasing or hidden.  This would dramatically cut down, or eliminate, electrical usage and also lower natural gas usage.

4. Have the GreenSwitch installed that turns off all unnecessary lights and outlets when you leave the home.  This would lower electrical usage so that unneeded items aren't always wasting energy when they're on or plugged in.

5. Install artificial turf as much as possible instead of grass.  This would greatly lower the use of water, as lawns require the use of the most water in a household.  It sounds tacky, but my brother-in-law has very nice artificial turf, it looks and feels great.

Comments (26)

Joseph Lang
Pillar To Post Professional Home Inspection - Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Home Inspector, Southern California
Esko, that would be a great idea.  Let's design it, market it, and retire millionaires  ;-)
Dec 13, 2007 09:27 AM
ASHEVILLE REALTY REFERRAL RESOURCE 828-776-0779
REAL ESTATE REFERRAL NETWORK - Asheville, NC
CONTACT janeAnne365@gmail.com

Hi Joseph~ 

Thanks for your entry into the December Challenge...Great ideas...and I had never heard of the green switch...verrrrrrrrry interesting! THX!

Dec 14, 2007 12:56 AM
Joseph Lang
Pillar To Post Professional Home Inspection - Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Home Inspector, Southern California
janeAnne, I think it's a great contest.  Thanks for stopping by.
Dec 15, 2007 01:26 AM
Bill Roberts
Brooks and Dunphy Real Estate - Oceanside, CA
"Baby Boomer" Retirement Planner

Joseph, GreenSwitch sounds interesting, but my wife does that already. It drives me nuts.

But the Astro Turf just doesn't cut it. Why not a grey water reclamation system to water that beautiful hybrid bermuda?

As for winning, you got some awesome competition. But good luck just the same.

Bill Roberts

Dec 16, 2007 03:40 PM
Joseph Lang
Pillar To Post Professional Home Inspection - Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Home Inspector, Southern California
Bill, have you seen the synthetic turf (the quality ones) in person?  I was skeptical too, but it's nice.  If I could afford it I'd install it.
Dec 17, 2007 12:53 AM
Marlene Bridges
Village Real Estate Services, Inc. - Laguna Hills, CA
Laguna Homes|Laguna Condos|Laguna Real Estate
Joseph - Thanks for some great ideas.  Really like the idea of the green switch. 
Dec 17, 2007 03:17 PM
Joseph Lang
Pillar To Post Professional Home Inspection - Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Home Inspector, Southern California
Marlene, thanks for stopping by.
Dec 18, 2007 01:00 PM
Diane Aurit
LKN Realty, LLC - Mooresville, NC
Lake Norman Real Estate
Great job judging the contest and sharing your ideas!
Dec 21, 2007 12:34 AM
Joseph Lang
Pillar To Post Professional Home Inspection - Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Home Inspector, Southern California
Diane, I didn't judge the contest, but I did participate.  Thanks.
Dec 21, 2007 01:44 AM
Anonymous
Nicole, building her groovy green house now

You forgot one of the easiest and most effective things to do: passive solar heating and cooling.  No equipment necessary to buy, install or break down, and no special skills required by the builder.  The energy savings are in the design of the home by collecting the heat of the sun during the winter and shading the home from direct sun in the summer.

Esko - You've been beat to the idea: they already have solar roof tiles and shingles. 

Jan 03, 2008 05:35 AM
#16
Joseph Lang
Pillar To Post Professional Home Inspection - Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Home Inspector, Southern California
Nicole, you're absolutely right.  I didn't include it since it doesn't cost money (as was the theme of the contest as I interpreted it).  But great point for people to think about, thanks for sharing.
Jan 03, 2008 09:39 AM
Vincent Coccia
Construction Services Integration - Paoli, PA
Good info and thanks for it.  It is always good to have tips that help your clients.
Jan 03, 2008 01:42 PM
Joseph Lang
Pillar To Post Professional Home Inspection - Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Home Inspector, Southern California
Vincent, thanks for stopping by.
Jan 03, 2008 02:44 PM
Rich Quigley
Chicago, IL

Good post Joseph. Recently there was a report on local TV about a woman who built a "green" home, and it was beautiful. For people who don't like the artificial turf idea, how about planting native plants? From what I have read, plants that are native to an area require much less maintenance.

I see that you are ASHI certified. That says a lot about your professionalism.

Feb 23, 2008 01:16 AM
Joseph Lang
Pillar To Post Professional Home Inspection - Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Home Inspector, Southern California
Rich, that makes sense about native plants, good idea.  And thanks for the compliment.
Feb 23, 2008 01:31 AM
Anonymous
jdubb
On the topic of vinyl windows: as I understand it, vinyl is an eco no-no because it is so environmentally unfriendly to produce and break down. Does anyone know anything about that? I'm in the market for new windows to reduce energy consumption and like the feature of vinyl ones over the maintenance of wood, but am afraid I'll be sorry for using vinyl. 
Mar 29, 2008 02:49 PM
#22
Anonymous
Hello from Joanna Gocan Realtor in PA

Great Post. Im a Realtor In PA and Im taking my Eco Broker course as we speak. Im also flying to Colorado Denver in a few weeks for their annual Green Real Estate Convention. I can't wait. There will be vendors form all over discussing creating Green Buildigs and Energy Efficient Green products. Right now more and more people are becoming aware that we have to do something and utalize the ressources we have to help our planet and live more energy efficient lives. That way we can all help in reducing our Carbon Foot Print.

I would add to your list methods of collecting rain water for watering your lawn or washing your car, Using a Geothermal Heat Pump ( GHP) that uses the ground instead of outside air to provide heating and air conditioning and in most cases hot water. Because GHP use the earths natural heat, they are among the most efficient heating and cooling technologies currently available. Energy Star GHP's use 30% less energy and include water heating capabilities.

 

Good Luck with your future house.

Im working on my Future House here is PA.

Jun 24, 2008 03:00 PM
#23
Anonymous
Carrie

Hi--

excellent list, I agree! I have a question about your choice for windows--first of all, is triple glazed truly necessary (maybe only in extremely cold climates?), and secondly, why vinyl? I know it's relatively cheap, but the environmental costs are huge, aren't they? Just curious why you went with that...

Sep 02, 2008 12:44 PM
#24
Paul Chavez
Earth Origins Realty - Albuquerque, NM
Albuquerque Realtor, NM EcoBroker, and General Contractor

Instead of artificially turf, why not native, drought tolerant grasses and wildflowers? 

Nov 11, 2008 11:43 PM
Joseph Lang
Pillar To Post Professional Home Inspection - Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Home Inspector, Southern California

Paul, there's none that I'm aware of for my local area... at least not if you want green grass.  But that might certainly work for other areas.

Nov 13, 2008 07:57 AM