TIPS FOR CREATING A GREEN HEALTHY HOME
Gone are the days of simple “paper or plastic?” decisions at the grocery store; now people are becoming consciously aware of how they can help conserve energy and our natural resources. While the green movement seems to be in full swing, homeowners are just beginning to understand how to build and maintain an energy-efficient and healthy home. There are three important categories to keep in mind: indoor air quality, green materials, and energy conservation. Here are just a few tips for getting up to green speed:
Indoor Air Quality
- Have a professional inspector audit your home for mold, toxins, and other air quality issues.
- Seal the house but also properly ventilate it with house fans, operable windows, and bath and kitchen fans vented to the outside.
- Use eco-friendly cleaning products to protect your lungs from harsh chemicals.
- Consider using walk-off mats to reduce the toxins that come in on your shoes from outside. Or remove your shoes and store in a decorative storage area near your entry.
- Change HVAC and supplemental filters regularly.
- Get low or no VOC paints and carpets.
- Stay away from using harmful solvent-and lacquer-based finishes when refinishing your hardwood floors.
- Use eco-friendly insulation to prevent moisture infiltration, which causes mold, dust mites, and other pollutants to grow.
- Install a living wall that can purify your indoor air.
- Use composite wood products without added urea-formaldehyde.
Build Green
- Use renewable, regional, and recycled products to build or renovate your home.
- Try using insulation made from recycled denim, rice hulls, or other recycled product instead of fiberglass.
- In new home construction, situate the house to get the most sunlight so you can harness that natural energy.
- Build a new home in walking distance of public transportation or services such as banks, stores, and restaurants.
- Use shower, sink, and toilet fixtures that conserve water.
- Instead of large areas of grass that require irrigation, choose native plants that have adapted to typical regional conditions and rainfalls.
- Look to solar or geothermal energy for supplying electricity, heating, and cooling.
- Design water retention or graywater systems to collect run-off and wastewater for irrigation or washing the car.
- Consider renovating a pre-existing home on land that has already been developed—this significantly reduces development impact and conserves undeveloped land.
Save Energy
- Have a certified examiner conduct a home energy audit and include a blower door test to reveal leakage in the home.
- Install windows with a U-value of less than .35. The more windows your home has, the more important they are to your overall cost savings.
- Monitor and access ductwork leakage.
- Switch to CFL bulbs, which use only 25 to 50 percent as much energy as conventional bulbs.
- Use photovoltaic exterior lights to harness the sun’s energy for your home.
- Install tankless hot water heaters to conserve energy by only heating water as it is being used.
- Use solar hot water heaters to harness the sun’s energy and maintain your hot water supply.
- Check for air infiltration and leaks from attic, basement, or crawlspace.
This information was complied with the help of Polly Bart’s 2008 five-part Green Home series in ChesapeakeHome magazine, Energy Star.gov information for homeowners, and ecohomeresource.com.
