Green building is the process of creating houses, offices, and other structures with the least amount of negative impact on the environment. For example, a green home is often built of renewable materials, using the least amount of natural resources, and designed to conserve water and energy when occupied.
What comprises Green materials?
(i) Are typically low in toxicity – materials with reduced toxin levels or nontoxic products that avoid using carcinogenic compounds and ingredients.
(ii) Give off minimal emissions – low or no volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).
(iii) The use of recycled materials and materials that can be recycled at the end of their useful life, or reused (salvaged).
(iv) To be resource efficient – products designed to conserve energy, minimize waste, and reduce green house gas emissions.
Did you know?
(i) Every day we use an average of 140 – 170 gallons of water per person.
(ii) 27 percent of our domestic water use is from bathing/showering.
(iii) If every American home had a leaky faucet, that dripped once every second, a total of 928 million gallons of water would be wasted every day.
(iv) Every toilet flush uses 6.5 gallons of water – close to 900 gallons per week by the average household.
(v) Allowing the water to run while brushing your teeth wastes about 5 gallons of water.
For more water conservation and usage facts, visit Sunnyslope County Water District Water Conservation Facts and Tips.
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Green home building is so much more than just conserving resources, as you say.
If we build with toxic materials, we lose our health while gaining a new home – not much of a tradeoff!
We can have the best of both worlds…. non toxic, energy efficient, resource conserving homes that are a joy to reside in.
Thanks for your comments.
Another thing green builders need to do is re-use gray water. This may not be an option in some cities due to codes, but builders need to lead the way. Cities don’t like gray water being used for irrigation because of chemicals that go down drains, but new homes can be plumed in such a way that they will re-use the gray water inside the house.
@Sam- That is a pretty good idea, but I wonder if the consumer would get the wrong impression of Gray water especially if some cities ban the technique. However I am sure that it would save them on their water bill every month.
I really like this blog !
To have healtier homes, one must choose the right desgn and choice of material to build it.
I consider GREEN building not just the least impact on the environment (which is FANTASTIC) but also a healthy home for its occupants by having good Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) and energy efficiency for both occupant comfort as well as lower impact on the environment. Building site specific, to take advantage of breezes & passive solar; using low water use toilets, greywater reuse; using low or no VOC materials; using recycled & sustainable materials; building a tight, well-insulated home; using landscaping design to help with energy efficiency and water use- all are features that make a home GREEN.
It’s cool to see that you are writing an article about Green materials. I’m currently living out in Japan and they actually do not use so many green materials. Only in some cases I have seen green in use.
There is one case where they are using a full community of green roof top patios with loads of plants. These large green roof tops are used as parks in the area as the residents only see concrete all day long and need some nature to balance out.
Nice post keep it up!
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I am glad that people are starting to incorporate green into their homes. It takes the individuals to start the movement and then the corporations will follow suit.
Thanks for interesting information about green buildings and materials, we must take care about our environment, and green buildings its a great chance for us to live in a healthy house and reduce negative influences by environment.
Every day we use an average of 140 – 170 gallons of water per person – is this really true? I couldn’t imagine where I have been using such an amount
Making your house green not only benefits you but also the planet. Going green can help you save money on your bills and also decrease your impact on the environment which everyone including the planet benefits from.
Taking little steps with your water use can have a giant effect on the amount of water that is consumed. Small things like not leaving the water running while doing dishes and brushing your teeth. If you knock 5 minutes off of every shower you take. These little steps add up to big savings for everyone.
i like the concept of green home, because its a new concept as well you said least amount of negative impact on the environment, environment is a huge consent now a days so hope it will be a great greatly, only one thing it needs a massive amount of water.
This information is really useful an i am all for green home , but the costs are prohibitive. The energy saving has to move in balance with the investment for it to really take hold
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This article makes us realize that we can actually contribute something for the environment even in our little ways. Thank you for posting such a relevant topic.
I love home builders who build green homes because they are motivating home owners to go green, too. If many homes go green, there will be a positive effect to the environment because these green homes are eco-friendly. Home owners can help save the environment in their own little way by simply having a green home.
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It’s good to know that we can do so much for our environment by doing so little.
I totally agree with the bathing/showing statistic. Everyone should take extra care when doing so as it's responsible for so much of our water consumption.
I think it is fantastic how we are using renewable energy and going green in so many ways. I think we also need to do things like reducing our energy usage, like installing geothermal heat pumps to replace high energy heating and cooling systems.
your statistic really surprised me and it made me reflect on how can we help the enviroment ..im definetly going to try to save water and start to use green building materials .. i think everyone should know about this statistic its really amazing and could have a n impact as it had on me .