Green is the New Black

“Green” has been a buzzword in the building and design industry for quite some time, but what exactly is meant by the term “green” in terms of home construction and remodeling? For some, it means creating a healthier indoor environment or using recycled materials, for others it might be the desire to lower heating or cooling bills and, in a handful of instances, it rests solely in the realm of doing the right thing. Ultimately, the goal is to use fewer resources to do more.

Today, homeowners, designers and builders are more educated about the high-performing homes and buildings that can make very real differences in people’s daily lives.

5 things to know about green building:

1. The most important design decision to make is how to orient a house in relationship to the sun. This impacts every aspect of the project and can either be a liability or a benefit to the project and its systems.
2. Small changes in key elements can have a big impact on the sustainability of a house. Installing a 0.5 gallon-per-minute aerator on sink faucets and a 1.5 gpm aerator on showerheads will save the average household around $45 a year and, more importantly, reduce water use by around 20,000 gallons EACH year.
3. Strategies are regionally based — what works in California may not work in Florida.
4. There are five checklist-based systems that certify a home’s energy and water efficiency, indoor environmental quality, and life cycle and maintenance: LEED for Homes, Energy Star, EarthCraft, NAHB Green and the Florida Green Home Standard.
5. The premium to build a high-performing house has been greatly reduced, if not eliminated, over the past ten years when return on investment and lowered operating costs are considered.

Why use LEED for Homes?

LEED for Homes is a valuable resource when building or remodeling a home. The LEED rating system, through all of its revisions and growth, has given the design and building industry a tool to provide a new standard of products. It’s a publicly driven and reviewed suite of rating systems, with a transparent and structured process for improving upon the last version of each system. If you think back ten years, a “green” home would not have meant much to most homeowners.

LEED-certified homes are designed to maximize fresh air indoors and minimize exposure to airborne toxins and pollutants — on average, these homes use 20 to 30 percent less energy than a home built to code. Through third-party inspection and performance testing, they are certified to perform better than a conventional home. LEED certification is helping to create a market-driven need for sustainable building products and an awareness of why the concept of building healthier, more efficient and more responsible homes is so critical.

The single biggest piece of advice we give our clients is that every decision, both big and small, can have a positive impact on the end goal of creating a healthier, efficient home.

James Blythe, R.A., LEED AP BD+C is a licensed architect and a principal of Content Design Group, a Jacksonville-based architecture and interior design firm.  He earned his Bachelor of Design and Master of Architecture degrees from the University of Florida.  He has worked in firms across the southeast and with the USGBC in developing the LEED 2009 exam.  James manages the Gainesville office of CDG.