Homeowners: Benefits of Green Building

These days, “green” is everywhere – in the news, at the supermarket, on your
“recycled” coffee cup, even in your child’s classroom.

Yet through all the hype, you may be wondering why green should matter to you
and your family. Let’s take a look at some of the health-related facts:

• Americans spend an average of 90% of their time indoors.  Levels of harmful
      volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can be as much as 10 times higher indoors
      than outdoors.
• As many as 15% of Americans are allergic to their own homes.
• The number of asthma cases in the U.S. more than doubled from 1980-1998 –surpassing 17 million.
• 60% of homes and 30% of commercial buildings are classified as “sick,” according to the EPA.
• You can't see sick air.

There are many more statistics that point to widespread health risks from poor indoor air quality, as well as skyrocketing water and energy costs, and large amounts of recyclable materials that end up in landfills each year.  Many people are concerned about global warming and the destruction of our natural resources.

So “going green” can help ensure that you and your loved ones enjoy environments that are clean, healthy and safe.

At Green Building Solutions, our mission is to make green building accessible to homeowners: easy, worthwhile, and gratifying, as well as financially sensible. We have a passion for green building, and for doing it right.

At a minimum, you can implement upgrades that reduce your utility bills—creating the kind of “green” that stays in your wallet.  Done properly, these upgrades improve your comfort and safety in a healthier home environment.

These upgrades also increase the value of your home. Research shows that for every $1 reduction in annual fuel bills, home values increase by $10 to $25.  The lower utility bills, comfort, health effects, and other benefits of a home energy upgrade, including a Home Performance with Energy Star certificate, are features that can make your house stand out from the rest. 

Lower utility bills help you offset the costs of the improvements, too.  In some cases, the savings can amortize the costs of a loan to pay for the improvements.  So you will not be out of pocket much if anything until the loan is repaid, and then the savings are all gravy.

If you go further with a remodel, you can also improve the durability of the construction, using materials and techniques that make the building last longer than typical construction, while requiring less maintenance.

Beyond the basics are issues of sustainability of resources used in construction.  The more environmentally conscious our clients are, the further they want us to go in selecting renewable materials, using recycled material, considering the energy used in producing and transporting the components of construction, and so forth.

Even beyond that is consideration of the policies of those companies producing the materials, such as how they treat their employees and how environmentally responsible they are.

However, not everybody wishes to spend the extra money on materials satisfying these various requirements.  We are prepared to discuss the cost/benefit trade-offs involved with you so that you find the level of "green" that's right for you and your budget.

At Green Building Solutions, we believe that every green choice, big or small, is a positive step for the future.  So call us TODAY and let us help you get started living in a healthier, more energy-efficient home.