BEING GREEN....

Blog # 2

                          It’s Not That Easy Being Green…….Or Is It?

“ A green home uses less energy, water and natural resources, creates less waste and is healthier and more comfortable for the occupants. The net cost of owning a LEED home is comparable to that of owning a conventional home.” (Canadian Green Building Council)

I mentioned in the first blog that I would review the LEED Home rating criteria to give us an idea of what a green / sustainable organization values in building or renovating a home. The eight LEED categories follow:

       

Innovation and Design Process

v  Integrated and ongoing project planning

v  Credentialed person as principal member of team

v  Green practices must be built in from the beginning

v  Durability must be part of home design/renovation eg. moisture control

v  Innovative or regional design eg. climate considerations

Location and Linkages

v  Site selection - use of the entire property to minimize project impact

v  Preferred locations – infill, previously developed

v  Infrastructure – transportation, shopping

v  Community resources – library, recreation venues

v  Access to open space – walking /biking trails

Sustainable Sites

v  Minimize disturbed areas on the site

v  Landscaping – no invasive plants, basic landscape design, limit conventional turf, drought tolerant plants

v  Decrease overall irrigation by at least 20% using calculation table

v   Minimize local ‘heat island’ effects – heat islands are built up areas that are hotter than outlying areas affecting summertime peak energy demand, air pollution. Mitigation using green roofs, trees, cool pavement

v  Surface water management – permeable lot, permanent erosion controls eg. management of run off from roof

v  Non toxic pest control – use of alternatives

v  Compact development – moderate, high, very high density

Water Efficiency

v  Water re-use such as rain water harvesting, grey water re-use, use of municipal recycling water system

v  Irrigation system – increase efficiency in the irrigation system, decrease overall irrigation demand. Indoor water use must have increased efficiency in fixtures and fittings

Energy and Atmosphere

v  Optimize energy performance eg. Energy Star for homes

v  Water heating – efficient hot water distribution, pipe insulation

v  Residential refrigerant – non ozone depleting refrigerants

v  Air infiltration – decrease building envelope*, use of triple glaze windows, heat and cooling distribution, HVAC (heating, ventilation and air con), lighting eg. LED lights *(a building envelope is the physical separation between the interior and exterior of a building)

Materials and Resources

v  Efficient framing – the framing order needs to consider waste factor limits, detailed cut list eg. exact cutting to reduce waste, framing efficiencies eg. use less wood, more insulation, off site fabrication

eg. pre-fab building off site

v  Environmentally Preferable Products – FSC (forest stewardship council) eg. certified tropical wood

v  Waste management - construction waste management planning, construction waste reduction

Indoor Environmental Quality

v  Energy Star with Indoor Air Package – combustion venting, moisture control eg. non paper based wall covering in showers, exhaust of moist air from BR/ kitchen, outdoor air vent, distribution of space heating and cooling eg using room by room calculations, air filtering by removing particulate matter from air supply, contaminant control during construction and indoors once owners move in, radon* protection (radon is a cancer causing natural radioactive gas), garage pollutant protection eg. exhaust fan

Awareness and Education

v  Education of the home owner needs to be centered around maintenance of the house eg. a walk through with owners to discuss the operation and maintenance of the house

These eight categories are assessed according to the four levels of certification: certified, silver, gold and platinum. Each category has a minimum and maximum number of points to be awarded. So depending on how the certification team rates the building in each category will determine the certification level attained.

A great example of this process made real is Harmony House, Burnaby, B.C..  A CMHC assisted project recently completed and open for visitors. So check it out by going on the web, look for Harmony House, CMHC.

To be continued…………..

Val