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Energy Conservation is becoming more of a household word and more of a concern to homeowners.  Most people are beginning to understand that environmentally friendly homes are also more comfortable and user-friendly.

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A growing awareness is hitting more and more Americans, and making it hard to not understand that we all need to do what we can to reduce our impact on the environment by reducing energy consumption and preserving non-renewable resources. Most of us would do like to do more to help the environment but, settle for the staus-quo and prioritize comfort and cost efficiency over more long term benefits.

When it comes to building environmentally friendly homes, there are two ways forward. One is to legislate for change. The other is to educate people to understand that environmentally friendly homes are actually more comfortable homes to live in.

Building a green home means designing with four classic environmental principles in mind, which are Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Wide Eaves. 

Earth: Choose building materials that are as ‘environmentally friendly’ as possible.

Air: Building a home to have superior air quality is also an important component of green design. In order to incorporate air flow that is compatible to green living, you must find ways to encourage the flow of breezes

throughout the home by placing the home and windows on the site or lot so as to allow for this natural flow of air.

Fire: This describes how much and what sort of energy is incorporated into the home has. Green homes are built around the principles of passive solar energy, such as placing the home on the site so that it maximizes solar energy during the winter, and protects it from harsh rays during the summer. Install materials indoors and out that provide radiant heat, install ceiling fans to circulate air and incorporate structural elements like eaves and soffits to provide protection from the sun’s rays.

Water: Water is becoming an increasingly precious commodity. In response to that, good green design incorporates ways to utilize water – both storm and waste – efficiently.

Wide Eaves: Homes designed with wide eaves provide increased weather shelter and it reduces maintenance.

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