Mar 16 2008
Energy-efficient And Green Options For Homes
With the current fears over global warming combined with rising energy prices, there is a lot of incentive for people to make their houses as energy efficient as possible. Rising sea levels make the problem of global warming particularly threatening to Florida as so much of the state is exposed to water. Fortunately, there are green ways of constructing houses that will minimize a structure’s carbon footprint. This allows the owners to save money in the long-run and make a small contribution to fighting global warming at the same time.
One of the best ways to make a property green is to preserve trees during construction. These trees, on top of being attractive and lending a home an established air, provide a windbreak to winter winds and will shade a house in the summer. By offering the house shade, the trees reduce the amount of energy needed to keep the house cool in the summer. If that isn’t enough, an established tree can take as much as 60 pounds of pollutants out of the air in a single year.
Another way of saving money on energy is by installing energy efficient windows. These windows combine a variety of technologies like lowemittance (low-E) glass coatings, gas filler between layers, and composite framing materials. The technologies help to keep heat inside in the winter and outside in the summer.
In addition to energy-efficient windows, there are new, energy efficient insulation options. In addition to the glass fiber batting, there are now sprayed insulations made of foam, cellulose, or wool as energy efficient alternatives. A simple measure such as increasing the R-value of insulation is a cost-effective way to save energy and help to reduce the heating bills in the winter and cooling bills in the summer. These two areas of bills amount to roughly half of the energy used in a house.
A design feature that does not require any extra materials gets the placement of a house involved. People who build custom homes are at an advantage when it comes to the final method of cost saving and green measures. If a home is designed by an individual and placed on a specific lot, the home owner can request that the south side of the house have more or larger windows than the other portions of the house. This measure will allow the house to capture more heat in the winter and also provide more natural lighting to the home year-round. Using natural lighting saves money on electricity and in a variety of other areas, such as purchasing light bulbs. While any home can incorporate the previous energy-efficient models, only a custom-built home can be placed so that this is true.
If you have any questions concerning energy-efficient or green options for houses, contact the Mount Dora custom builders of BRC Homes at 352-383-1948 or via their website, http://www.brchomes.com Their associates will be more than happy to discuss any questions you have concerning green options or any other part of the custom home building process.
Joseph Devine
Tags: Mount Dora Custom Builder, Mount Dora Custom Homes, Mt. Dora Custom Builder, Mt. Dora Custom Homes
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