Utilizing Green Materials in Home Building

by Alden Smith

A common myth today is that building a green home is for people who have an unlimited budget. Another is that being seen as a tree hugger or Green Peace fanatic just isn't where it is at. Now, all this is changing. Building green has become very affordable due to competitive prices, and it is being proven that a green home is both energy efficient and eco-friendly. In this article, we will focus on building materials that are used for the exterior of a home.

Where to Begin?

Planning a green home needs a lot more consideration than just using green materials. In the design stage, orientation of the building at the site is paramount. A well designed green home will be oriented correctly, with windows facing north and south to enhance natural lighting and cut down on energy requirements. This will minimize exposure to the east and west to avoid the greenhouse effect of the sun.

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System is the benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of green buildings. Following their guidelines will take you a long way in exploring green home building. Another very comprehensive tool is Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability (BEES) software. This software helps you determine the best material for your site using life cycle assessment (LCA) technology. Developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Building and Fire Research Laboratory, it can be downloaded free from their website. Use the keyword phrase BEES to search for this fine software.

What is a green building product or material?

Green building material must meet several different criteria. These are:

* Resource efficiency
* Energy efficiency
* Affordability

Let's look at these.

Resource Efficiency

In order for a building material to be considered green, it must pass certain tests. For example, it must be made of recyclable materials, which include post-industrial content and preferably post-consumer content. It must be natural, plentiful and renewable. The material must be harvested from a sustainable managed resource and certified by an independent third party. When manufactured, the process must include a minimization of waste (think recycled, recyclable or source-reduced packaging, and reduced greenhouse gases on manufacture).

Building materials should be readily available locally. This saves energy and resources during the transportation of the material to the building site.

Materials must be durable and recyclable. Use materials that can be easily dismantled reused or recycled at the end of their design life.

Materials should come in recycled packaging. The packing material must also be recyclable.

Energy Efficiency

The exterior building material should be energy efficient, providing insulation to the home to cut heating and cooling costs. One of the industry's favorite building materials is Dow Foam, an extruded polystyrene and polyisocyanurate insulation that has high insulation factors and is waterproof.

Affordability

Materials must be affordable, and in a range close to that of regular building materials. Though typically a bit more expensive, the savings in energy efficiency and insulation override the added cost. When considering green material, look at the life cycle costs as compared to conventional building materials. Any worthy building project has a budget, and this cost should be within a project defined percent of the overall budget.

The Three Steps in Product Selection

Now that you have decided to go green, have selected your site and conducted site research, it is time to acquire building materials. Three steps determine this process:

• Research
• Evaluation
• Selection

There is so much information on going green available on the Internet that it would take a lifetime of research it all. What we are interested in is a life cycle assessment (LCA). We want to find out what materials are best for each particular use, and how they stack up against green building standards.

The evaluation process will help to determine technical information such as product certification. Here too, using LCA comes into play. This is where the BEES software would be a great help.

Selection is nothing more than finding the best materials following green criteria, and obtaining the material at the best possible price.

Going green in building a home shouldn't be a long drawn out process. Follow these simple steps and you can easily design and build a green home.

More Benefits of Green Building

Alden Smith is an award winning author, regular contributor to DoItYourself.com and publishes Eco Friendly America. He writes on a variety of subjects, and excels in research.