Finding Information About Green Communities

Green housing communities and residential buildings will continue to grow by large multiples over the next several years in the United States. McGraw-Hill Companies predict that the market share of green new construction be as large as 20% of all home starts and worth up to $70 billion by 2012. This sustainable housing market is selling strong despite the economic downturn since consumers recognize that the energy efficiency gains can amount to serious monthly savings. The danger is that "green" is a term used widely and is largely unregulated when developers promote their communities. Consumers are finding it more difficult to navigate the "green" housing market, oftentimes finding homes that claim to be green really aren't. This is called "greenwashing", a trend we will certainly see grow in the coming years. Fortunately, there have been several organizations which have created standards which measure all communities against the same benchmark. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) has emerged as the most widely accepted. LEED assigns a rating to a home or neighborhood of Certified, Silver, Gold, or Platinum. The rating is based on a set of six widely reaching principals designed to assess the environmental friendliness of the community. www.GreenHousingDevelopments.com has created a national website which displays information about many of the nation's leading green developments in a non biased and easy to understand way. Interested consumers can confidently research different green communities and compare the ones which they like best for their green features. Features which are displayed for each community include Price, home type, heating and cooling systems, windows and plumbing used, access to transportation and much more. Through the website, interested consumers can request a brochure, floor plans, or MLS listings from green agents in each geographical area.

About the Author:
This article is written by Luke Blahnik for Green Housing Developments. Get information about USA green homes for sale from Green Housing Developments.

Green Roofing With Bluegrass - LEEDS Certification Leads To Innovative Roof Design

Heating and cooling a building is an important design consideration for any building. Construction of a LEED Certified green building opens the doors to many interesting and growing choices. In Louisville Kentucky in the NuLu district a building was built to meet the Platinum standard for LEEDS certification. With innovative designs and Louisville air conditioning service available for seldom needed Louisville air conditioning repair, this building will be a model for other green design buildings. A big component of designing a green building and reducing the demand for air conditioning is the design of the roof. Other elements include the construction design and materials used for the windows. Constructing a building to reduce its energy demand is a challenging and exciting project. Several strategies are employed in the design and construction phase. Some of the strategies that went into the Green Building in the NuLu district of Louisville are helpful touchstones in understanding green design.

Cities tend to be heat islands, absorbing and emitting heat that raises the temperature several degrees higher then the surrounding rural areas. Finding ways to reduce the absorption and subsequent dispersion of heat energy is an essential component in designing a building that contributes to sustainable living. One of the simplest ways of reducing absorption is simply painting the exposed parts of roofs a light color. Black tar roofs in Louisville can reach 170 degrees in the summer. By painting them a reflective color the temperature is reduced, the building requires less cooling and the local aggregate temperature is reduced aiding in the cooling of the heat island.

A truly green roof consists of dirt and grass. This is an old form of roof building that uses the wisdom of ancient builders. Dirt roofs with grass offer several important features. The earthen foundation is cooling and insulating, making it effective in both winter and summer. The grass on the roof offers a cooling surface as well. One of the other benefits is in the water absorption of the roof. A common problem in cities is the vast water runoff that accompanies a rain storm. Most surfaces drop the water immediately into the storm system. A grass and dirt roof absorbs the water letting it seep out over several days, and reducing the amount of run off as the grass holds the moisture.

There are many benefits to creating and installing a green roof. There are some reports that indicate a green roof can cut heating and cooling costs by as much as 20 to 30 percent in a one story building. It can also increase the longevity of a roof by reducing the impact of UV rays on membranes and increasing the waterproofing capabilities. Green roofs can also act as a noise buffering system. Another obvious benefit is the conversion of carbon dioxide into oxygen by the plants on the roof.

There are many reasons to consider a green roof when renovating or designing a building. Some considerations are the additional weight that the earth may require. The weight should be estimated with maximum water absorption considered. Beyond the contribution to a more sustainable way of building, green roofs can be aesthetically pleasing.

Connor Sullivan recently contacted a Louisville air conditioning repair specialist to fix a problem at his office. He scheduled a Louisville air conditioning service specialist to repair his parent's air conditioner.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Connor_R_Sullivan

2009 LEED Report - Webinar Video

Watch the 2009 LEED green building market and impact report webinar video.

Free Webinar By LEED Founder Robert Watson This Thursday Nov 5 2009 - Building A Sustainable Future

You're invited to a free sneak-preview webinar on Thursday, November 5, 2009 at 12:30pm EST about green commercial building by Robert Watson, the “Father of LEED” called “Building a Sustainable Future: Progress & Trends Toward Improving the Environmental Footprint of Commercial Buildings”.

Please visit http://bit.ly/GreenBuilding_Webinar_Nov5 for more information or to sign up.

Help spread the word. If you have a Facebook or Twitter account please also mention the conference there! There are some embeddable banners, a widget that includes Robert Watson’s Twitter feed, and other assets here: www.influencexchange.com/greenbuilding

Sustainable Home Building - Constructing A Greener Environment

Sustainability has become a key consideration of manufacturing in recent times - with the intended effect being that anything we make or build, not have a deleterious effect on the health of the planet. Indeed, sustainability is about using resources our in a healthy and environmentally friendly manner and in such a way that provide for the long term needs of our community. Sustainable home building pursues two broad themes: construction using environmentally friendly materials and the most efficient use of energy that is possible.

It should first be pointed out that there is much greater scope for sustainability when building new houses than there is when simply doing a green remodel of an existing dwelling - but that is not to say that there aren't things that any of us can do, irrespective of where we live. Buying more energy efficient appliances, using water conserving showerheads, using aerators in sink faucets and revamping insulation are all within the reach of any home owner. All of these measures save money in the long run by cutting down on our energy and water bills, and because they're utilizing less energy, they're also measures that will see that we're not unduly adding to the planet's stock of greenhouse gases.

Of course, if we're building a house from scratch then we have much greater scope to ensure its sustainability. The two areas that a prospective builder needs to concentrate on when building a sustainable home is energy efficiency and using sustainable harvested eco-friendly materials.

There are a few key areas that we can focus on when building an energy efficient house. The most abundant and cost free energy source we have is sunlight and a good passive solar design will ensure that our house is capturing enough sunlight to be absorbed by the surrounding thermal mass, which will then release heat back into the room when the sun goes down. The utility of this design is dependent on also having good insulation. The sun can also be used to generate a large portion (if not all) of our heating and electricity needs. By placing solar panels on the roof we can convert sunlight into electricity to heat water and power domestic appliances. Advances in solar technology are rapidly seeing solar power become a more cost effective way of generating power. These measures will all be complemented by making sure that all your electrical appliances are energy efficient.

Consideration should also be given to how water will be used in your home. Using low water capacity toilets and flow restricted shower heads are practices that are now actually quite common. This theme can be extended by diverting gray water from clothes washing and bathing facilities to watering plants, and by catching rain water from roofs for use inside the house. Concentrating your landscaping on indigenous drought tolerant plants can also save you an enormous amount of water.

A green builder will also ensure that he is only building with sustainable materials - ideally ones that have been certified as sustainable by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)- an independent 3rd party non-biased ratings agency that certifies materials as being sustainable or not; as well using non-toxic paint and finishing products.

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For more information on sustainable home building go to http://www.sustainable-home-site.com

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Sustainable Home Building - Constructing A Greener Environment