Green Homes 101

Making your home a greener place is a commitment – to yourself, your family, your community and the world. But more than that, it is a learning process. As exciting new technologies, products and scientific breakthroughs constantly emerge, staying educated on the hows – as well as the whys – of maintaining a green home is the best way to ensure your efforts are as effective and beneficial as possible.
Green Home Defined
A green home uses less energy, water and natural resources, creates less waste and is healthier for the people living inside compared to a standard home. It’s as simple as that!
A home can be built green, or you can make it green later. A green makeover can happen all at once, or it can be a gradual process. But what it all comes down to is a new way of thinking – and a new way of living. From a more energy-efficient kitchen to a tree-filled backyard paradise, your home can be green top to bottom, front to back, inside and out. And it doesn’t matter whether you rent or own, live in an apartment or single-family home, or live in the city, the suburbs or the country.
The Benefits of a Green Home
There are many very real benefits to living in a green home, and every day, more and more Americans are discovering those benefits. Green homes are healthier, more durable and more cost-effective.
Average Predicted Energy Savings of LEED Homes
Based on their average Home Energy Rating System (HERS) scores, homes certified under LEED for Homes since the program launched in January 2008 are predicted, on average, to have the potential for reduced energy usage compared with International Energy Conservation Code standards:
LEED-Certified LEED-Silver LEED-Gold LEED-Platinum
~30% ~30% 48% 50-60%

That’s why green homes are expected to make up 10% of new home construction by 2010, up from 2% in 2005, according to the 2006 McGraw-Hill Construction Residential Green Building SmartMarket Report. Owning or renting a green home is good for your health, your wallet and our environment.
Incentives
Beyond the health and environmental benefits of living in a green home, many local and state governments, utility companies and other entities across the country offer rebates, tax breaks and other incentives for adding eco-friendly elements to your life.

Greywater systems.

Greywater is any water that you use in your home except toilet water. Shower, sink and laundry water are types of greywater and can be reused for other purposes, mainly irrigation for landscaping. The aforementioned waste water accounts for up 50-80% of water wasted by residential users.
Greywater systems work by diverting water for usage in other areas. These systems can be a part of new construction or retrofit on an existing home. There are two main ways to recycle greywater: those that recycle with purification and without. Those that use a filter to purify the water can be designed into existing plumbing on a home. They often contain a pump to send water to toilets for flushing or outside for irrigation.
There are several benefits to reusing greywater.
Saving fresh water.
Using greywater for applications such as watering the garden or landscaping can save you money and increase the local water supply. Especially in the summer and dry climates, water usage is evenly split between indoor and outdoor. If you could recycle indoor water for use outdoors, it could cut your water usage by nearly 50%.
Extended life of a septic tank.
Greywater use can significantly extend the life of your septic tank by putting far less strain on the system. The same goes for your municipal water treatment systems, less wastewater flow results in higher efficiency and lower costs.
Purification.
Water is very efficiently purified in the upper, most active region of soil. This protects the quality of natural ground waters.
Plant and soil benefit.
Use of a greywater system enables a landscape to blossom in areas where water may not otherwise be available to support plant growth. Also, nutrients that still exist in your wastewater would find their way back into your yard and help to maintain the land’s fertility.
Sensitivity to natural cycles.
A greywater system provides satisfaction in taking responsibility for the wise, ecological use of a valuable resource. It also saves energy by reducing pump and treatment needs. It will also increase your awareness of what goes down your drain; knowing that the water is returning to your land you are far less likely to toss toxic chemicals down the drain.

There are, nonetheless, possible health and environmental risks to using greywater if it is not done safely. Water that is laced with harsh, household chemicals can do harm to you and possible kill the very plants you are trying to care for.
Be sure never to use water from the toilet and kitchen. Kitchen water is easily contaminated with grease, bacteria, and chemicals. Don’t use harsh, toxic cleaners if you have a greywater system. Look for phosphate-free or low phosphate cleaners. Also, when using a greywater system, it is best to use sub-surface irrigation pipes because it is low risk and the soil will filter the water. Hosing your garden or landscape with greywater puts you at high risk of contamination from any existing chemicals or bacteria.
Finally, because of the potential health risks involved in using greywater, many states and cities have strict codes or laws regulating its use. Check with both your local building department and a qualified plumber before installing a greywater system.

What goes into a green home?

Green homes incorporate environmental considerations and resource efficiency into every step of the building and development process to minimize environmental impact. The design, construction, and operation of a home must focus on energy and water efficiency, resource efficient building design and materials, indoor environmental quality, and must take the home's overall impact on the environment into account. However, many of the processes and technologies that go into a green home happen behind the scenes and behind the walls.
Energy-Efficient Features
Many of the energy-efficient qualities of a green home are easy to spot. Appliances, windows, and water heating systems will likely have ENERGY STAR® ratings. The home should also include efficient lighting fixtures and bulbs. Renewable energy sources, such as photovoltaic electricity and water heating systems, further decrease the overall energy consumption within the home.
Water-Efficient Features
Fixtures and appliances such as low-flow showerheads, faucets, and toilets, and ENERGY STAR dishwashers and washing machines all conserve water. Programmed, low-volume irrigation systems, rainwater collection systems, wastewater treatment systems, and hot water recirculation systems also save water.
Resource-Efficient Features
These decisions—from home size, to orientation on the lot, to floor plan layout—are made in the design of your home and development of the lot. The house orientation and design should take advantage of natural daylight to reduce lighting needs, and should use strategies to reduce heat gain in the summer and heat loss in the winter. The home should contain renewable materials, including rapidly-renewable wood species such as bamboo, and recycled-content materials in carpets, tiles, and concrete formulations.
Indoor Air Quality Features
The heating, air conditioning and ventilation system (HVAC) must be appropriately sized for an efficient and properly ventilated home. Fans in the kitchen and bathrooms should cycle fresh air inside, and release stale air. Low-VOC paints and finishes and wall papers should be used as well.
Outside the Home
In a green home, care should be taken to preserve trees and other vegetation native to the area. Landscaping should contain plants that are appropriate for the climate, and grouped according to water needs. Driveways and other impervious surfaces should be reduced as much as possible, and may be composed of gravel, permeable block pavers, grids, or other permeable systems.

What is Geothermal Energy?

Geothermal energy is defined as heat from the Earth. It is a clean, renewable resource that provides energy in the U.S. and around the world in a variety of applications and resources. Although areas with telltale signs like hot springs are more obvious and are often the first places geothermal resources are used, the heat of the earth is available everywhere, and we are learning to use it in a broader diversity of circumstances. It is considered a renewable resource because the heat emanating from the interior of the Earth is essentially limitless. The heat continuously flowing from the Earth’s interior, which travels primarily by conduction, is estimated to be equivalent to 42 million megawatts (MW) of power, and is expected to remain so for billions of years to come, ensuring an inexhaustible supply of energy.

Energy Meters with Refund Checks.

Your taxes are in. And if you're expecting a refund, using it to buy an energy meter could be the best investment you make this year.
Just like financial planning, energy conservation is made a whole lot easier when you have a baseline to work from and know what you're spending.
At a "Town Hall" meeting in March, President Barack Obama once again noted the importance of metering. While he was talking about smart meters, which will be able to help you tap into the new national smart grid we're all dreaming of, there's no reason we shouldn't ask our new administration for metering options in the meantime.
Energy and education experts have said metering provides easy-to-use, practical information that often serves as the impetus for behavior change. By some estimates, meters can result in savings up to 15 percent almost immediately.
If you can plug your air-conditioning unit into a $25 meter and discover within seconds your A/C is eating up unnecessary amounts of energy--and your bank account--you may be inspired to brave a degree or two, or completely unplug.
Other governments, such as the U.K.'s, are already ahead of the curve, providing meters for households. The U.K.'s meter program is part of the country's goal to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions 60 percent by 2050.
If you can't wait for the administration, head to Home Depot, or set up an Internet-based home energy monitoring system. Google's PowerMeter--an online dashboard to help you gauge energy use and decide where to cut--is expected on the market soon.

What is Carbon Footprint?

Global climate change is one of humanity’s greatest challenges and one of the most important indicators that we are in ecological overshoot. Since the carbon footprint is 50 percent of humanity’s overall Ecological Footprint, reducing our carbon footprint is essential to ending ecological overshoot.
Today the spotlight is on carbon, but climate change is happening as we approach other critical limits in fisheries, forests, cropland, and water. Unless we focus on ending overshoot as a whole-systems problem, some of our solutions to global warming could cause large, unintended impacts. In the rush toward biofuels, for example, we are in many cases shifting pressure to cropland and forestland.
Today, the term “carbon footprint” is being used as shorthand for the amount of carbon (usually in tonnes) being emitted by an activity or organization. The carbon component of the Ecological Footprint goes beyond this definition and translates this amount of carbon dioxide into the amount of forest area required to sequester carbon dioxide emissions. This tells us the demand on the planet that results from burning fossil fuels.
This doesn’t mean planting forests is the solution to climate change. It shows us the planet doesn’t have the capacity to sequester all the carbon dioxide we are emitting.
The Ecological Footprint ensures that we can identify the best long term solutions and that our solutions truly “add up.” Whether we are deciding which carbon offsets are the most effective or which energy sources will lead us into the future, the Ecological Footprint tells us whether our solutions lead us out of overshoot and toward one planet living.

What is a Cool Roof?

A cool roof is one that reflects the sun’s heat and emits absorbed radiation back into the atmosphere. The roof literally stays cooler and reduces the amount of heat transferred to the building below, keeping the building a cooler and more constant temperature. Imagine wearing a white or a black T-shirt on a hot day. By wearing the white T-shirt you will remain cooler than if you wore a black T-shirt because it reflects more sunlight and absorbs less heat. Cool roofs like a white T-shirt, keep the internal temperature of the building cooler.
However, a cool roof need not be white. There are many “cool color” products which use darker-colored pigments that are highly reflective in the near infrared (non-visible) portion of the solar spectrum. With “cool color” technologies there are roofs that come in a wide variety of colors and still maintain a high solar reflectance.
The two basic characteristics that determine the ‘coolness’ of a roof are solar reflectance (SR) and thermal emittance (TE). Both properties are rated on a scale from 0 to 1, where 1 is the most reflective or emissive.
The CRRC measures these two properties for roofing products, both for the product’s initial values and after three years of weather exposure. The CRRC publishes the results on the online Rated Products Directory. The online Directory is available to the general public at no charge, and it allows you to compare the rated values of various product types and brands.