A green home checklist for energy consumption/savings

May 21, 2009 | 10:46 AM
This is the third in a three-part feature on going green.

Whether you're a home buyer or a renter looking for a green home, how do you know if a home is truly green? What should you look for? This checklist will help you identify a truly green home and ensure you get a healthier, high-performance green home that costs less to operate and has fewer environmental impacts:

• Location: New green homes and neighborhoods must not be built on environmentally sensitive sites like prime farmland, wetlands and endangered species habitats. The greenest development sites are infill properties like former parking lots, rail yards, shopping malls and factories. Look for compact development where the average housing density is at least six units per acre. Your home should also be within easy walking distance of public transportation — like bus lines, light rail and subway systems — so you can leave your car at home. As well, a green home should be within walking distance of parks, schools and stores. See how many errands you can carry out on a bicycle. That's healthier for you, your wallet and the environment.

• Size: No matter how many green building elements go into your home, a 5,000-square-foot green home still consumes many more natural resources than a 2,000-square-foot green home. The larger home will also require more heating, air-conditioning and lighting. If you really want a sustainable home, choose a smaller size.

Arts & Lifestyles

	Remembering the Spirit of Huntington
	Honor Flight serves those who served in WWII
	‘Aida’: incredible finish to Theatre Three’s season
	Finalists announced for chef competition
	Getting ready for spring in 12 easy steps
	Brookhaven Fair returns with family fun

Extras

	comments to this article
	e-mail this article link to a friend
	letter to the editor about this article
	print this article

• Building design: The home should be oriented on its site to bring lots of natural daylight into the interior to reduce lighting requirements and to take advantage of any prevailing breezes. Windows, skylights, light monitors, light shelves and other strategies should be used to bring daylight to the interior of the house. The exterior should have shading devices (sunshades, canopies, green screens and — best of all — trees), particularly on the southern and western facades and over windows and doors, to block hot summer sun. Dual-glaze windows reduce heat gain in summer and heat loss during cold winter months. The roof should be a light-colored, heat-reflecting Energy Star roof, or a green (landscaped) roof, to reduce heat absorption.

• Green building materials: A green home will have been constructed or renovated with healthy, nontoxic building materials and furnishings, like low- and zero-VOC (volatile organic compound) paints and sealants and nontoxic materials like strawboard for the subflooring. Wood-based features should come from rapidly renewable sources like bamboo. A green home uses salvaged materials like kitchen tiles and materials with significant recycled content.

• Insulation: A nontoxic insulation, derived from materials like soybean or cotton, with a high R (heat resistance) factor in a home's walls and roof will help prevent cool air leakage in the summer and warm air leakage in the winter.

• Windows and doors: Windows and exterior doors should have Energy Star ratings, and they should seal their openings tightly to avoid heat gain in summer and heat loss in winter.

• Energy efficiency: A green home has energy-efficient lighting, heating, cooling and water-heating systems. Appliances should have Energy Star ratings.

• Renewable energy: The home should generate some of its own energy with technologies like photovoltaic systems.

• Water efficiency: A green home has a water-conserving irrigation system and water-efficient kitchen and bathroom fixtures.

• Indoor environmental quality: Natural daylight should reach at least 75 percent of the home's interior. Natural ventilation (via building orientation, operable windows, fans, wind chimneys and other strategies) should bring plentiful fresh air inside the house. The HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning) system should filter all incoming air and vent stale air outside. The garage should not have any air-handling equipment or return ducts, and it should have an exhaust fan.

• Landscaping: Yards should be landscaped with drought-tolerant plants rather than water-guzzling plants and grass in most regions.

Would you like to know how much air is leaking out of your home? First step to greening your home is conservation. Go to www.ligreen.com/joliepowell, fill out the web form and a representative from LI Green will contact you to set up your free energy audit. Together, we will make a difference.

See you at Green Fest this Saturday!

Green Fest in PJ

Green Fest will be held on Saturday, May 23 (Memorial Day weekend) from noon to 5 pm on East Main Street in Port Jefferson. The day will feature eco-friendly vendors, booths, demos, musicians, food, children's activities and entertainment, smart cars, electric hybrids (Toyotas and Hondas) and much more. For more info, contact the Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce at 473-1414 or info@portjeffchamber.com.

Search The Site