Later today we’ll wrap up our green apartment series, but first I wanted to alert you to a super-fly green home site; FreeGreen.
FreeGreen offers spiffy (and free) building plans for green homes. Plans vary in depth, some showing energy consumption between buildings that meet basic code vs. building that have greener features.
HOW IT WORKS:
- Head to FreeGreen.
- Search for a home you like – there are various ways to do this. You can search by type of home, check out the open source network (which is not free, but cool), plus you can search by all types of various criteria like energy use, size, popular green features, and more.
- Download the plans you like and even buy blueprints.
EXAMPLE:
I picked one house to check out so I could tell you how this works. I went with the Suburban Loft. Once you click on the virtual tour you can make changes and add custom features. Basic features and concepts are explained during the tour. The image slide show is crisp and really nice, showing both exterior and interior features.
Once you click download, you’ll have to register, but the form was short and fast. Then it asks you if you want basic or premium service (which is $100 a year). The plans are pretty basic but give you a nice idea to start with if you’re considering building green. Plus this particular plan offers slides of both energy features and efficiency.
Visit FreeGreen and see the plans for yourself.