A Bit of Information:
After the
world has bumped into maximum energy use creating a huge expense for our energy, "Thinking and Being Green" has
become a new wave of thought.
Being
"Green" is more than just Building a House Green. It's about saving the planet we live in.
It's about:
- Saving the
environmental impact we have on our mother earth. We can't just change the water in our fishbowl (earth) we live in.
- Saving energy however possible, whether its fuel usage on our homes and cars or recycling when or if possible
- Trying to live in an environment that is "safe" to live in, whether it's the air we breathe or the things
we eat.
- If all we do is think about ourselves and our families impact
(carbon print) each day, one day at a time, there are little things we can start doing that can grow and expand into
more things, adding up to make a huge difference globally.
"Building Green"
I've been doing research on green building and
the more I dig into it, the more complicated and difficult it gets. Someone has to give us a measure to use so we can have
a gauge, label, or certification to be "this much Green". To be totally green would be to live in a mud hut with
no power or water. In todays world of living, building a home we want to say is totally green could triple the cost
of a new home depending on how you gauge "Green".
I attended a seminar Jan.
29th, '09 at the KCHBA (Kansas City Home Builders Association) and have learned to focus my attention on 2 "Green
Type" certifications that I'll outline below. There will be many organizations to give certification to come, but
only a few actually exist today for homes (NAHB & LEED). To obtain a "Certified Green Home", you have
to pay a certified 3rd party inspection company to continuosly look and verify each step you do to obtain a "level or
gauge of green label". There are only a handful of these 3rd party certified inspectors in the Kansas City area
and none in Lawrence, KS. This certifier can cost $2,000 +/-.
If
you were to pick 2 certifications to try to build to, I would recommend these:
- The NAHB
(National Association of Home Builders) has done a tremendous job of creating a way to measure a home built to be able to
grade, through a point system, how green your home is and what type of "Green" certification you can obtain. They
have 3 levels of certification: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Here is a great link to learn more http://www.nahbgreen.org/WhoIsGreen/homeowners.aspx
- "Energy Star" Homes certification is another way to be green without the "Green
House Label". They focus on energy use and there are tax credits possible for some items purchased. You would have to
hire a certified 3rd party inspection to gain their certification also. Learn more at http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=new_homes.hm_index
The more you dig, the more you learn that being "Green" is going to be a
big and not an easy task, but one we will all have to focus on, more and more, in the future to come. One step at a time.
In Closing:
Some "Green Concepts" are just that, concepts. Some do not have
any common sense or just are not economically affordable to do. Just remember, it's easy to take little green steps that can
get bigger and bigger in time. If everyone would take little steps in todays world, it could have a huge impact on our mother
earth today.
Rod Laing
2009 Update - RLCC, Inc. is now
a Certified "Green Home Builder"
