ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF YOUR HOME

                         ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF HOUSE BUILDINGS

House Construction in Progress

Building a house requires a great personal stress that it's easy to forget the environmental effects. As you deal with crew coordination, project budgets and building permits, its more likely you focus on the home-building's effect on your mind and body. Once you take a step outside your busy mind, however, the effects of home-building on the environment can became clear. While these effects are rarely positive, you can take proactive steps to minimize your future home's impact on the natural world.

Buildings account for 40% of worldwide energy use which is much more than transportation.  Furthermore, over the next 25 years, CO2 emissions from buildings are projected to grow faster than any other sector (in the USA), with emissions from commercial buildings projected to grow the fastest 1.8% a year through 2030 (USGBC).Often, energy use in the form of electricity drives the largest environmental impacts. Where that electricity comes from determines what those impacts are. In the United States for example, where buildings account for more than 70% of electricity use, most of the electricity is generated by coal-fired electrical power plants (USGBC). Generating one megawatt hour (MWh) of electricity in the US produces approximately 250 – 900 kg of CO2 depending on the mix of coal, nuclear, hydro and other sources of fuel (US EPA).  As a reference, the average US household consumes approximately 11 MWh of electricity per year (US EIA).

Materials and Energy Consumed

Construction and Demolition debris

Every year, the United States generates about 160 million tons of building-related construction and demolition debris which accounts for about two-thirds of all non-industrial solid waste generation in the country, according to a 2009 report from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The same source reports that only about 20 to 30 percent of this debris including asphalt, concrete, metals and wood is collected and recycled. When it's not recycled, this waste occupies valuable landfill space and consumes additional energy for transportation to, and storage at, the waste site. In addition to the energy expenditure of construction including fuel burned during transportation, and electricity and gas used during building homes account for about 39 percent of total energy consumption in the United States, according to the EPA. This includes 12 percent of the country's water consumption, 68 percent of its electricity consumption and 38 percent of its carbon dioxide emissions.
 
Measures

The Environmental Protection Agency proposes numerous guidelines that restrict the effect of home-building on the environment. For instance, the Effluent Limitation Guidelines limit storm water discharges from new construction and require home builders to acquire permits when disturbing one or more acres of land. The EPA's Endangered Species Act prohibits builders from constructing houses in certain environmental risk areas, including wetlands and the habitats of endangered species. The organization, alongside state and local governments, also offers numerous assistance programs to help home-builders use materials that reduce environmental impact and energy usage. Federal, state and city governments impose eco-friendly building codes that encourage everything from energy-efficient heating systems to water-efficient plumbing to indoor pollutant control.

 
Turning Green

Solar Panel

 
To reduce your home's impact on the environment, you can turn to green, sustainable building methods. These methods include the use of recycled or post-consumer content and easily renewable resources such as certified wood and locally available components. Non-toxic building materials materials and products that emit minimal amounts of volatile organic compounds reduce harmful chemical emissions, while solar panels and water-conserving plumbing fixtures reduce long-term energy use.


Benefits
Green construction methods not only help you meet building codes and regulations and make for energy-efficient homes, the process positively effects the surrounding environment. Green building helps protect local ecosystems and encourage biodiversity, in addition to reducing waste streams and improving local air and water quality. The practice also goes easy on your wallet, resulting in reduced operating costs and maximized life-cycle economic performance for the home, meaning you stand to benefit economically if you choose to sell.

 

Some Green Home Building Ideas

1. Site: When getting property for yourself, take a note of some things that you must foresee before moving in. Firstly, avoid building west facing home. This will keep your home cool as it minimizes sun exposure. Secondly, avoid building home in environmentally sensitive locations such as earthquake or hurricane or flood prone areas. Thirdly, check if public transportation is easily available and local grocery shop is not that far away. This will help you avoid taking your own vehicle every time and will reduce your travel time.

2. Small house is Better: A small home built with eco friendly techniques is going to have smaller environmental impact as against a large home. A house that is too large is likely to cost more to heat and cool. Try to keep the place manageable and cost effective. If you are planning to extend your family and bring in few relatives, you need to put proper resources and accommodation in place.

3. Energy Efficient Equipment: ENERGY STAR label on a piece of equipment states that particular product has been deemed as energy efficient by the Environmental Protection Agency(EPA). ENERGY STAR is becoming well known label and consumers today choose energy star appliances for their homes. These appliances offer significant cost and energy savings without compromising performance.

4. Proper Insulation: Insulation is one of the most important ting that you need to consider while building a green home. Heating and cooling account for 50% of your home’s energy consumption. Air leaks such as around windows, door and duct work is responsible for building’s heat loss. Don’t let heating and cooling of your interior spaces air go waste through improper insulation. Proper insulation will not only reduce your energy consumption but will bring down your electricity bills substantially.

5. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle (3R): Reduce your need for buying new products that are not environment friendly. Reuse your old material such as wood floors, doors, windows in your next home. Recycled materials such as recycled glass, aluminum,  recycled tile, reclaimed lumber, recycled plastic can be used in green home building.

6. Use Sustainable Building Materials: If building a green home is your goal, then using environmentally or eco-friendly products should be on your list which can reduce the impact of construction on the environment. Each and every part of your house such as roofing material, building material, cabinets, counters and insulation to your flooring should be environmentally friendly. Use products such as reclaimed lumber, recycled plastic, recycled glass or natural products such as bamboo, cork and linoleum which are made of natural, renewable materials.

7. Install Solar Panels: Solar energy is clean and renewable source of energy. Solar panels are an emerging and hot technology for people who want to utilize the natural power all around us, the sun.  Solar panels may be expensive at first, but the long-term savings you can put into your pocket is a stunning example of the benefits of turning your life from black to green. The location of your house and the way you have constructed solar panels can determine how much power you can collect. By taking advantage of solar power you can bring down your energy consumption and supply excess energy, if any, to your utility company. Also, government grants, incentives and tax breaks are huge bonus to those who want to use solar power in their home.

8. Energy Star Windows: Energy efficient windows labeled as ENERGY STAR windows are new player in window market and are much more energy efficient than normal windows. The ratings for these windows determine how energy efficient they will be. The lower the rating, the more energy efficient are your windows. The energy savings provided by these windows are enough to cover the added cost per window.

9. Rainwater Harvesting Systems and Tank-less Water Heaters: Install a rainwater harvesting system while building your green home to collect rainwater from roofs and then storing it in a tank. The collected water can then be used for other purposes such as toilets and sprinkler systems. Rain barrels are one of the most common methods of rainwater harvesting being used today. With tank less water heaters, you need not wait for the water to get heated. Tank-less water heaters heat only that much water that is needed as it is passed through electric coil. This gives you twin benefits. Firstly, it eliminates excess energy costs as it heats up only that much amount of water that is needed and secondly, you can get ample storage place by eliminating the hot water tank.

10. Eco-Friendly Lighting: Both LED and CFL cost more upfront but use less energy and last longer than traditional incandescent bulbs. Since they offer significant cost savings in the long run, they can be ideal for your new green home.