What is “building green”?
It means building in a more environmentally sensitive way. A green builder tries to make the finished house as energy efficient as possible, often going beyond local building code requirements. Green builders emphasize healthier indoor air and avoid products that can give off gases containing volatile organic compounds (VOC’s), to which some individuals are very sensitive. Green builders also practice resource conservation, both in the selection and manufacture of construction materials. They tend to favor materials that require less energy to manufacture and can be recycled when their useful life in your house has ended.
Building or remodeling green is a design and construction approach that promotes the health and well-being of your family, the community and the environment. A green building, also known as a sustainable building, is a structure that is designed, built, renovated, operated, or reused in an ecological and resource-efficient manner. Green buildings are designed to meet certain objectives such as protecting occupant health; improving employee productivity; using energy, water, and other resources more efficiently; and reducing the overall impact to the environment Building green is easier on the earth, it lowers costs, and it provides a healthier home in which to live. According to the Sustainable Building Industry Council (SBIC), housing alone consumes 20% of America’s energy. Homeowners who choose to remodel green, or build green, can lower their energy consumption by 30-50%. It’s widely agreed that forests produce 40% of Earth’s oxygen, and that building supplies use 25% of its forests
