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Green building is a holistic process that addresses a broad range of issues including community and site design, energy efficiency, water conservation, resource-efficient material selection, indoor environmental quality, construction management, and building maintenance. Building green is good for your pocket book, good for your health, and good for the environment. Building green provides a range of benefits, from the personal to the global – economic and environmental advantages for families, communities, and the entire planet. The 5 key elements of green building are typically site design, energy efficiency, water conservation, indoor air quality, and material selection.
To build green is to go beyond minimum Energy Code. For example, the EPA Energy Star program is a voluntary program that exceeds the Energy Code by 15%. Other green measures or initiatives can include solar or wind power generation, natural day lighting, and green roof.
The US Green Building Council, a national non-profit organization, developed various standards and guidelines for green building called the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program. The LEED program provides a mechanism to rate and label a building according to points awarded for green installations.
There are many regional and local green building programs and they all have different variation of standards and rating systems. But all these programs rely on the basic 5 key elements for rating through site design, energy efficiency, water conservation, indoor air quality, and material selection. In 2007, the City formed a task force to take a closer look at sustainable building. The Costa Mesa "Green Team" was established to evaluate the feasibility of integrating sustainable building techniques in new publicly and privately developed projects as well as major retrofits. Task force members were compromised of various City staff members, as well as representatives of the community, and met to formulate a policy, which was submitted to and passed by, City Council, which was implemented on September 5, 2007, and ran through June 30, 2008.
The green building program is voluntary for private development & council may consider a mandatory program for City facilities. Similar to the Residential Remodeling Incentive Program (RRIP), qualify green building projects will benefit from Free Building Permits & Plan Check. Unlike the RRIP, the green building program will be extended to all private developments (i.e. new commercial construction and major renovation projects, existing building operations and maintenance, retails, tenant improvements, and multifamily projects). Although green installation idea is not new, a green building program is a relatively new concept to Orange County. The City Council adopted the green building program again this year, to commence on, September 17, 2008, and to run through June 30, 2009.. If you can't afford a new home or a large remodeling project, there are still plenty of things you can do to be environmentally friendly and save money.
Make it a policy to buy energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs. You can now get a variety of shapes and perfectly match the color hue and lighting for each room. They look good and use at least two-thirds less power than regular lighting.
When you are ready to buy new home appliances, buy smart. Check for the Energy Star rating. These more efficient machines can reduce your utility bill as much as 30-percent. Energy Star is a program sponsored by the EPA and the Department of Energy.
Those clunky power adaptors draw energy from the wall all the time. Unplug them individually or attach them to a power strip and turn off the whole switch when not in use. Around 75-percent of all electricity in a home comes from appliances that are turned off, but are still plugged in. Make sure that you only have those appliances plugged in where you're actually using the electricity. You will save on bills and we as a society will save on energy.
Practically every appliance uses electricity even when it's switched off. Unless it needs power to retain programming memory, hit the switch. Better yet, make it a family practice.
You can find out how much energy your home uses each year with an energy audit. Many utility providers and state energy departments will audit your home free or at low cost to help you find ways to be more energy efficient.
Make sure your ducts are properly insulated and install weather-stripping around windows and doors for a better seal. Tax credits on efficiency-increasing heating and cooling equipment make now a great time to upgrade. And remember, insulation pays for itself year round.
Invest in large, live houseplants that will help keep your indoor air fresher.
Place a water bottle filled with liquid or pennies into your toilet's water tank. This will cause the tank to use less water every time you flush.
Consider eventually installing a solar hot water heater on your property. It would cost about $8,500 for a family of four. You can apply for federal and state tax credits, which add up to almost 50-percent. It'll take about six and a half years for the system to break even on its investment, then you're making free hot water.
Many utility companies offer renewable energy products that can be purchased as a percent of total energy use or in blocks of kilowatts. Buying green energy helps support the development and use of renewable fuel sources. There are few things you can't turn into something environmentally friendly while making your pocket a little greener in the process.
Using simple ingredients such as baking soda, soap and vinegar, you can make cheap, easy, and non-toxic cleaning products, save money, time, and your indoor air quality. This is especially important if you have kids, pets or if there are elderly people in your home who are sensitive to chemicals in the air so you and your home will be healthier.
Paint can be made with the same volatile organic compounds found in nail polish or gasoline. Major manufacturers and some boutique brands have introduced low VOC paint. It spreads, covers, and leaves the room smelling just fine.
Limit your use of aerosol cans. Because they have limited recycling value, the containers will probably wind up in a landfill. Instead of aerosols, look for spray bottles, liquids, powders, and roll-ons.
Paper towels and napkins can be made from recycled paper, though in some cases the recycling costs more than making a brand new product. You won't hear that about cloth napkins, which can be washed and re-used again and again.
By making sure your lint filter is clean and your dryer exhaust free to open and close, you are essentially tuning up the efficiency of your appliance. It will run better and be more cost efficient.
For the ultimate in low cost laundry drying, put the clothes on either a drying rack or go outside and use the clothesline.
Trees and shrubs provide shade during the summer and can help shield your house from frigid winter winds. Both can help lower your energy bill.
Instead of plastic bags, scoop your doggie's doo in biodegradable bags.
Composting helps reduce the amount of waste you send to the landfill. In the process, you create free, healthy fertilizer for your garden.
Place a barrel under a gutter downspout and let it fill over time. That rain water can be used for your plants and gardens. Green at home is one thing; green at the office has its own set of special challenges. Going green is a lifestyle choice, not just a home activity. So what are some steps you can take at work to make things more environmentally friendly?
Even an oversize laptop runs more efficiently and takes less energy than a desktop.
The paper trail follows many of us, adding hundreds of pounds of waste. You can reduce it with just a few changes. Save printing: send documents by email and keep files on your computer or flash drive, not a filing cabinet.
You can save plenty of paper by programming your printer to use both sides of the paper. In the case of a long report, do you really need 500 one-sided pages?
Many of us get take our coffee in the morning and were using plastic and cardboard cups - bring your own mug. You can leave one at work; you can even often times bring a reusable mug as you're commuting in your car. It can be refilled over and over again. Wash it at home it's a nice habit to get into that saves you one cup a day.
It's not only quicker, cheaper, and easier to pay by computer; it also puts a major dent in the paper waste pile.
Not just the big ones. Cell phones, PDAs, and laptops can all find a new purpose after you're done with them. Many organizations refurbish them for low-income families or schools.
Stretch your battery use. A battery too drained to power a flashlight might be perfect to operate your TV remote. Before you pitch it - switch it!
Motion sensors, dimmers, and timers can be set to turn things on and off when needed.
Ask your commercial building manager about using gray water tanks. It's a system that recycles water from your building's toilets, washing machines and dishwashers. Impractical? Don't say that around New Jersey's Aspen Ice Skating Rink where the septic water is collected, treated and put back on the rink. At this point, the systems are a bit too costly for one-family use, but if you're in a commercial building or a planned community, consider making the water work for you.
Speaking of water, instead of bottled water around the meeting table, filter your tap for drinking water. Not only is bottled water expensive, but it produces large amounts of wasteful containers. Even if you can't buy the most environmentally friendly car, there are still plenty of things you can do to get from one place to another with minimum energy. Getting to work, school and running errands all add to your energy budget. To go green you don't have to give up transportation, just use it a bit more wisely.
Instant messaging and video conferencing now allow you to hold conferences or even take online classes. This means you save time and gas.
Trains, buses, boats, car pools, bicycles, and your own feet.
When driving is necessary, use an inexpensive hourly rental car.
Even if you can't afford a fancy hybrid, there are plenty of cars that get great mileage. A car that gives you another 10 more miles to the gallon puts $1,000 dollars a year back in your pocket!
Properly inflate your tires, change your air filter and drive 55 mph on the highway.
Using bio fuels goes way beyond ethanol. Look for environmentally friendly oil car fluids and, of course, read how to use and dispose of them properly.
It's practically standard on modern cars. Use it wisely. At higher speeds, open windows create drag and lower your mileage. Roll them up and use the air and recirculation. At slower speeds and around town, roll down your windows and catch a cool breeze.
The time spent in your car idling while waiting to turn against oncoming traffic burns fuel and costs millions each year. In metro New York, United Parcel Service (UPS) reduced emissions by 1,000 metric tons with a software map program customized for every driver to minimize lefts.
Avoid the drive thru – instead of idling in line with your engine running for several minutes, save gas by parking and going inside for your order.
Commercial car washes can be more efficient than home washing. Check to make sure that they clean and recycle the water. In the store, in your home, even while you sleep...There are things you can do to be more energy efficient and better to the environment.
Bring Your Own Bag. Some grocery stores give you cash toward your next purchase for every bag you bring in to use again. It saves them and you money.
Check the amount of cardboard, plastic, and other materials used for the box. Some retailers are replacing plastic containers with corn-based packaging.
By purchasing things in larger quantities, you will probably save money and certainly save the cost of packaging and transporting smaller boxes of the same thing.
Look for clothes and accessories like handbags that are environmentally friendly.
Even kitty litter can be laced with questionable ingredients. Look for natural alternatives.
Antiques are sort of the ultimate recyclable, servicing generations of owners. Many can be restored with natural wax products at a very reasonable price.
Many modern showerheads are built to conserve. Check to see how well yours works. Also, aerators on the faucets will keep water waste to a minimum.
Federal regulations will soon require all sleeping mattresses to be fire resistant. If you like the safety but don't care for the flame retardant chemicals, some popular brands are introducing models with a more natural fiber based flame retardant barrier.
These essentially allow you to invest in an environmentally friendly cause. How can I become green through recycling? Smart recycling can be environmentally sound and pleasing, too. Companies like IceStone make durable surfaces made from recycled materials, like glass and concrete. Recycling is not limited to bottles. Used doors, windows, and fixtures can all be bought at a fraction of the new price. |
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