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Cons of Building or Buying a New Green Home

May 21, 2009 in Green Building by Jennifer | No comments

This month we’ve been sorting out which is better: remodeling green or buying or building a new green home. So far we’ve looked at…

Today the last part of our series – the cons of building or buying new. However, stay tuned because soon I’ll post some resources that will help you out, no matter your final decision.

CONS OF BUILDING OR BUYING A NEW GREEN HOME:

The obvious first con of going with a new green home is cost. Green homes can cost more at the start than conventional. In the long run a green home will save you money, but start-up costs can stop some people cold. According to CNN Money, if you went as green as possible, a green home might cost you 20-30% more than a traditional home, but don’t forget there are shades of green in-between as well. You’ll also get tax credits. Green Prefab can also be an affordable way to build or buy green.

Side note: I built a green home and the costs were not more than a traditional home – but keep in mind that we built small as well (also a green feature). Additionally a piece at Ecomii notes that green costing more is a myth. According to this piece; “The chief complaint most people have with green building is cost… This is not true — but it’s a common misconception promoted by ignorant architects and contractors who are afraid of building in a different way. Good architects and contractors know how to save their clients money. The client sets the budget, and a project should come in at or below that budget. With a clear direction of budget, there is no reason you can’t build a green building for the same price as, or less than, a traditional building.” Read more.

OTHER CONS:

Read the rest of this entry »

Is There an Ideal Sustainable Home?

January 30, 2009 in Sustainable Building by Jennifer | No comments

Sustainable housing is not a new idea, but there are many different ideas surrounding the term sustainable building, some of them always changing (think LEED). People have varied sustainable plans when designing a house, but in reality you can narrow sustainability down to some basic ideas.

The best sustainable housing is…

Sustainable at each level. From choosing a site and clearing the land. Your choice of materials and your building ethics (i.e. recycling waste). Your energy system and landscaping. At each level of the planning and building process there are sustainable aspects you can consider.

A sustainable home has a light footprint and takes up less space. You can sort of build a green McMansion but that majorly defeats the true purpose of sustainable design.

The best sustainable materials are locally acquired, efficient, and recyclable. You can go further by choosing materials that have been reclaimed and by using only what you need. For example, two sinks in the bath, may be overkill.

Sustainable housing requires less fuel to heat or cool and maximizes natural vs. non-renewable resources for energy. Wind, solar, proper landscaping, window quality, and more are all ideas surrounding sustainable energy for housing.

Sustainable housing makes the most of water use with things like water efficient appliances, rainwater systems, and low-water landscaping.

Interior design is also a consideration. Non-toxic paints, clean air techniques, reclaimed floors, sustainable furniture, and more all contribute to overall sustainable design.

In my opinion, sustainable design also adds to the land integrity instead of claiming aesthetics from said land. This is not an across the board idea, but it makes little sense to overtake nature with design.

To learn more about sustainable design read:

Is This Product Really A Smart Green Choice?

January 2, 2009 in Green Cleaning, Green Your Home, Healthy Green Home by Jennifer | 1 comment

In the last post, Green Product Questions To Ask Yourself Before You Buy I said I’d gather some resources that can help you answer some of the questions offered. Here you go…

Now keep in mind that some of the questions only you can answer, but in some cases, you find info about a company or product that can help you to make a green purchasing decision.

Does the product have a long shelf life?: To learn more about product reliability and life expectancy, try looking at the following…

Is the company who made it / sells it a good green and ethical company?:

Can I recycle the item and or packaging?:

Could I get it from a local company: Check your local yellow pages or do an online search but use your area as a search perimeter.

How toxic is this product?:

Is it tested on animals?: Visit Caring Consumer to see companies that do and do not test on animals.

If you do a little research before you buy a product, you can make sure that you’re getting the least toxic, and most eco-friendly product for your dollar.

    Green Product Questions To Ask Yourself Before You Buy

    December 30, 2008 in Green Your Home, Save Money by Jennifer | 1 comment

    With New Year’s right here upon us, it’s time to make some green goals. If you haven’t gotten your own goals squared away yet, then you may want to consider a nice big green purchasing goal.

    Having a green shopping goal is smart, and covers a lot of ground. By flexing your green buying power you can accomplish energy saving, conserve resources, cut down on pollution, support local economy, support green businesses, and lower your footprint.

    When shopping for home products, groceries, or anything, you can ask yourself the following questions. If you answer truthfully, you’ll be able to make greener shopping choices the whole year… Read the rest of this entry »

    Green Building Resources & Green Living Tips

    July 29, 2008 in Alternative Energy, Decor, Save Energy, Sustainable Building by Jennifer | 1 comment

    I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but Best Green Home Tips used to be located in a different spot, at the RiverWired network. Over there, we looked at many a green building and remodeling tip. I thought that if you missed these posts, it would be cool to catch you up to speed.

    green living

    Following are some of the best posts that you may have missed the first time around…

    Green building:

    Green home interior:

    Alternative energy & energy saving:

    This catches you up on about half of the green building blog. Later this week, I’ll post a second batch of great links that can help you to build and live green.