I’m reminded of the words in an old folk song, “the times they are a changing”, and they are certainly changing for the construction business as well. Whether you are building commercial or residential the current construction industry is moving to incorporate “green building” concepts into all aspects of design and construction. In the residential market if you are down-sizing or up-sizing, designers and builders are thinking of how to down size those utility bills and upsize energy efficiency. They are thinking green in order to save on utility & construction cost which can be passed onto the consumer. But more importantly, savings in energy consumption and earthly resources will be passed on to our children and following generations.

Even in an older home renovating and upgrading the home to “green” means a healthier house that costs less money to operate and lasts longer. Appliance and home mechanical product corporations are designing energy and resource saving concepts into their product lines. And with the constant technological improvements and government involvement with sponsorship and tax incentives the prospects for continued emphasis and impact of this movement is real.

Going “Green” is not simple and there are many approaches and multiple avenues to this movement. Not surprisingly there are several groups attempting to originate standards and guidelines. According to a recent article by Jennifer Alsever of MSNBC “In 2004 the Green Building Council rolled out a pilot program for similar grading of residential projects, and today 350 builders are enrolled for 6,000 green homes to go through LEED certification.” Alsever further writes that in addition to the Green Building Council “the National Association of Home Builders, a trade group with 235,000 corporate members, is at work on its own green building standards. The group, which worked a decade ago to develop a standard way to measure square footage in homes, began work on green building rules in 2004. The process has been a long and arduous one, incorporating input from not only builders but architects, interior designers and construction product manufacturers”.

So while there are multiple efforts underway to produce some definitions and standards where can the average consumer go to clarify and define this “Green” movement? There are a variety of sources which can provide the consumer with information on this initiative and several have been identified below:

Energy Star homes: are third party verified to be at least 30% more energy efficient than homes built to the 1993 national Model Energy Codes. These savings are based on heating, cooling and hot water energy use and are typically achieved through a combination of, building upgrades, high performance windows, controlled air infiltrations, upgraded heating and air-conditioning systems, tight duct systems and upgraded water heating equipment. As an example we have seen a dramatic increase in on-demand water heating systems. Gone are the days of heating hundreds of gallons of water on a daily 24 hour basis. For additional information go to: www.energystar.gov

Green Building: Green or sustainable building is a growing field that develops healthier and more resource-efficient models of construction, renovation, operation, maintenance and demolition. Green homes can use alternate energy sources like solar power, better insulation or landscaping to cut down on water use and safer building materials to improve air quality. For an example of what states, like North Carolina are doing go to: www.wncgbc.org

Global Green USA’s Green Building Resource Center: the product and materials promoted by this organization have been defined and categorized as follows: save energy, conserve water, protect natural resources, contribute to a healthy indoor environment, and reduce buildings’ impact on the community. For additional information go to: www.globalgreen.org/gbrc/whatmakesgreen.htm

For builders the future is clear as we must consider better use of site management, erosion controls and minimizing the building footprint of homes. As builders we must emphasize using the least amount of wood to achieve maximum stability than the traditional methods and still accomplish the desired structural integrity. Employing this type of strategy in our construction will produce a fraction of the waste of a typical construction project. Construction land fills are disappearing and waste is going to be a continuing problem that will also increase construction costs.

For both developers, builders and consumers, embracing basic goals behind the green building movement are the same as the goals of earthly sustainability that we should all embrace. There is a finite amount of resources on the planet and those resources must be conserved in order to use them for the future. In construction, whether commercial or residential the tenets for building green are simple; Reduce and Reuse, Recycle and Renew. These tenets serve as the guidelines for the green movement and should serve as reminders for us all to develop, build and buy with a conscience.