By Rob Fanjoy
When discussing green building, it is worthwhile to note that the commercial segment of the construction industry has been leading the way in terms of total green projects built, as well as the willingness to try inventive technologies and techniques. But according to at least one presenter at the 2007 Kitchen and Bath Industry Show in Las Vegas, the residential sector is not only learning from its commercial cousin, but catching up in terms of market acceptance.
"Residential construction is now nearing the same point as commercial, because commercial high-rise residential projects have been going green for a few years now," says Robert Blakeman, AIA, LEED accredited professional and senior vice president of Paulus, Sokolowski & Sartor Architecture in Warren, N.J. "A lot of the techniques that have been tried and tested in that market translate easily to single-family home construction."
Blakeman also pointed to several other driving forces behind the popularity of green homes:
- The U.S. Green Building Council has created benchmarks and a LEED for Homes program, making it easier to plan, implement and measure the success of green building techniques.
- Corporate America has embraced green building, with many high-profile projects over the last several years.
- Schools are going green, which has proven to help improve student's test scores and reduce absenteeism.
"Now, people are seeing those successes and they want to build a better place to raise their families as well," says Blakeman.
Most of Blakeman's work in the past has been on the commercial side of things, but he has worked on a few single-family green projects. He has taken many of the lessons he learned from commercial work and applied them to residential projects. The biggest general change he sees in greening residential projects begins with assembling a design team and their approach to the project from the start.
"In the past, architects and designers would listen to owners' wants and then come up with a design they felt would suit their needs," he says. "Now, instead of that linear approach, we take a more circular strategy and assemble an entire team of architects, designers, engineers, landscape architects and trades people, and then we establish goals to meet an owner's needs."
This approach is especially important in utilizing renewable energy sources on homes, such as solar or geothermal systems. Blakeman says that every construction profession has to be involved to make sure the project gets the best or most appropriate technology from the start. Then everything else about the home will work in concert.
Blakeman says that the key principles of any green project are:
- Building siting, orientation and size
- Building envelope strategies
- Energy efficient lighting, appliances and equipment
- Optimizing mechanical equipment (i.e., right-sizing A/C units)
- Utilizing renewable or alternative energy systems
- Integrating all decisions into one cohesive design and construction strategy
With most residential green projects, the two most important rooms to focus on are the kitchen and the bathroom, as they typically use the most energy and natural resources and benefit most from improved indoor-air-quality measures. Blakeman says the most essential strategies for each room include water conserving fixtures (even including such things as waterless urinals and composting toilets, which are gaining acceptance beyond the "fringe" green crowd), IR sensors on faucets, tankless hot water heaters, operable windows, good ventilation and daylight, low-voltage lighting, recycled flooring and countertops, and low VOC cabinets, finishes and adhesives.
"Cabinetry is still tricky, as many people's understanding of fine cabinetry is still a high-gloss finish on warm wood. Many of the low VOC finishes don't provide the luster people desire," says Blakeman. "But manufacturers are addressing this, so more green alternatives will be available in the near future. In the meantime, metal cabinetry is gaining in popularity."
Blakeman says that there are so many state and federal incentives out there to help offset any increased costs associated with green building that consumers are nowhere near as wary or hesitant as they were even a couple years ago. And even more encouraging, according to Blakeman at least, is the potential for a flood of newer, more effective and affordable green products that will be available in the near future.
"With all the manufacturers in the market now looking to capitalize on the green movement, the competition amongst them will push green over the tipping point to where it will become standard practice," says Blakeman.
Rob Fanjoy is a freelance writer who specializes in green building and energy efficiency. He is currently remodeling his own home to increase its performance.
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