What is green or sustainable building?

Green building uses design techniques, materials and technologies meant to minimize a building’s impact on the environment, both in its construction and its continuing operation.

A Green building lowers both environmental impact and costs by using sustainably harvested or recycled materials durable enough to last generations. Green buildings also avoid toxic materials and are designed to minimize construction debris and indoor pollutants.

Most simply, the idea of sustainability, or ecological design, is to ensure that our actions and decisions today do not inhibit the opportunities of future generations.

How is green construction impacting the new homes market?

According to the National Association of Home Builders, residential construction is undergoing an industry-driven revolution in how houses are built thanks to the new “green building” trend.

Today’s builders, manufacturers and energy-efficiency experts are making great advances in green building, making the following innovative components fairly common in new construction homes:

• Double-pane windows
• Blown-in insulation materials
• Programmable, multiple-setting thermostats
• Compact fluorescent lights
• Occupancy sensors and timers to conserve energy used for lighting needs
• Task lighting that removes the need for whole-room lighting
• Energy-Star Appliance Ratings.
• Tighter construction to reduce drafts
• Building components comprised of concrete and insulation

Up until recently, the wide-spread acceptance of green building has been deterred by consumers concerned about the higher construction costs. Currently, trends in the demand for green building are changing. Recent studies show that green building is typically not more expensive up-front, and in reality, buyers save significantly over time, due to the energy-saving efficiencies they provide.