When you think of green, what do you think of? A few years ago, my answer might have been different, but now I think green is an unstoppable wave that will affect every part of our lives, and whether you agree with the underlying tenants driving the movement, or even if you still think this is just a passing fad, there are some basic unignorable facts about the world as we move into the twenty-first century: energy demand will continue to rise, the world’s population will continue to expand and there will be greater pressure on the earth’s resources and environment.
Our energy problems are not going away soon. In the U.S., residential energy consumption accounts for 21% of our overall energy use. What is interesting is that 5-10% of residential energy consumption comes from electronic gadgets and appliances that are turned off! Yes – OFF! Most of these gadgets weren’t even around ten years ago, but they continue to multiply. But more than half of the energy used in residences is consumed by heating and cooling and our houses are getting larger. Striving for more energy efficient homes is an important goal, especially in light of our increasing appetite for power consuming gadgets – cell phones, ipods, ipod accessories, lap tops, etc.
The U.S. Green Building Council, a non-profit organization dedicated to sustainable building practices, introduced the LEED Green Building Rating System. You may have heard of LEED, an acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.
“LEED is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. LEED gives building owners and operators the tools they need to have an immediate and measurable impact on their buildings’ performance. LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.” – U.S. Green Building Council.
But LEED is geared towards new buildings or homes yet to come. As of yet, your home remodeling project wont qualify for LEED credits unless it’s a whole house remodel. Of the over 78 million (1999 American Housing Survey) single family and attached homes, ten million homes were built before 1920, well before modern efficient heating and cooling systems not to mention insulated glass.
The U.S. Green Building Council has teamed up with the American Society of Interior Designers to come up with green building guidelines for common remodeling projects, including kitchens, deep energy retrofit, home performance and outdoor living. (See: regreenprogram.org). There are a few simple things, some expensive, some not so much, that can improve the energy efficiency of your home. Insulated glass in your windows is a good place to start. From storm windows, to double and triple pane replacement windows, modern, energy efficient windows can help conserve energy and since the windows are where a home loses most of its heating and cooling, its an investment you can see direct returns. If you have a flat roof, especially a black roof, you can increase the energy efficiency of your home by installing a white roof or painting your black roof white. Dark roofs trap heat and radiate heat into the immediate surroundings. If you’ve ever been in your attic in the summer, you know. By installing a reflective roof, you can reduce the heat trapped in the attic and reduce the micro climate created on and around the roof, which will in turn reduce cooling costs. An attic fan or even better, a solar attic fan can be used on slate and asphalt roofs to draw the hot air out of the attic and help lower cooling bills and lower the temperature on the second floor. Another easily installed product is a tubular sky light. Tubular skylights can introduce light into dark hallways and bathrooms without increasing heat. Bamboo and cork flooring are renewable resources and increasingly popular choices for remodeling projects.
The green wave isn’t going to dissipate. If you ever listen talk radio, you’d think people who were environmentally aware or energy conscious were “un-American,” or a threat to our traditional way of doing things. After all, isn’t everything American supposed to be bigger, badder and more powerful? Going green definitely runs against this tradition. Green is subtle and not “in your face” like so much of our modern American culture tends to be. I have heard the cry that if we abandon our current way of living, it will leave us uncompetitive against developing countries who continue to use coal and oil. This movement towards a more efficient America will leave us less competitive? Maybe I should just close my ears to that argument. On the other hand, if we get out ahead of everyone else and stay on the tip of this wave of green, we will control our own future and we will discover the new technologies that will help us stay ahead and we will yet again lead the world in another industry. A previous generation set their sights on going to the moon. Future generations may keep their sights within our own atmosphere – on a sustainable earth.
