BUILDING GREEN IS NOT A NEW PHENOMENON, BUT THERE ARE CERTAINLY NEW TRENDS AND ITEMS WE NEED TO STAY AWARE OF.

GREEN, GREEN, GREEN. Seems that’s all we hear about these days. GREEN businesses, GREEN homes, GOING GREEN, GROWING GREEN, and so on and so on. But one thing is crystal clear, building green means we are preserving our environment for our children and our grandchildren. There is a misconception that “building green” is too expensive when in the long run we save so much time and money on maintenance and replacement.

There is a lot of “green washing” out there. A term used when products or services are claiming to be green without third party certification. Drew Smith of Two Trails Green Consulting, recently shared this term with us as he expressed his concern for homeowners who are not educating themselves enough to know what is really green. Let’s face it just because a company recycles paper or prints on recycled paper doesn’t mean that their products are “green” or that their company is “green” certified. Building or buying a “green” home means that it encompasses all things required to be green certified. Homebuyers should be ensuring that the home is certified by the Florida Green Building Coalition (FGBC), Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), or The National Association of Home builders Green Building Standard (NAHB). Things such as the use of existing trees, stacking of 2 stories for best efficiency, exterior envelope planning which can save on HVAC size, minimizing hallways, water heater either centered in the home or tankless, hard surface floors to keep home cool and healthy (easy to clean), low flow fixtures & cross ventilation in all major rooms (windows on opposite walls if possible) are taken into consideration for a third party to certify a home green.

So how do we really know if what we are doing is green? “Third party certifications are the only way to really know, as the certification validates the level of green.” When looking at specific products Drew went on to tell us to make sure they are certified by GreenGuard, FSC, Greenlabel, GreenSeal or Energy Star. You can click here to view a complete list of Green Product Labels & Certifications. You can click here to view a complete list of Green Product Labels & Certifications.

We also wanted to mention a trend that we are seeing more builders start to offer: insulating the attic by way of spray foam. Here in Florida temperatures in our attics can range from 150 degrees to 180 degrees. By using spray foam insulation in your attic the temperature may only be 5 – 7 degrees higher than the temperature in your home. The US Department of Energy (DOE) studies show that 40% of your home’s energy is lost due to air infiltration. The spray foam prevents air & moisture infiltration. Now of course in Florida we can appreciate this because of our extreme heat but in northern parts of the United States spray foam insulation benefits homeowners just as much during their winter months.

It can seem overwhelming to think about “going green” or building your new home “green.” Proper planning and decision-making in the beginning stages will make the process a lot easier and you will reap the benefits in the long run. If you are planning on building green it’s a good idea to have a “meeting of the minds” before construction begins and include architect, builder, owner and all subcontractors. This way everyone is on the same page.