Green Building
The manufacturing of concrete is responsible for 7-10% of all CO2 emissions worldwide. Building homes with less concrete addresses this problem. The house pictured above, located in South Village, has a large walkout basement and uses close to 25% less concrete than a regular full foundation.
There are many benefits to green building including low monthly utility bills, better indoor air quality, access to natural light, lower greenhouse gas emissions, resource conservation, pollution reduction, ecological footprint minimization, and a better future for our environment.
Some of the more important features of green building are:
- minimization of concrete use for foundations
- rainwater harvesting for irrigation and toilets
- low flow faucets and fixtures
- dual flush water saving toilets
- solar thermal air collectors
- solar hot water collectors
- photovoltaic solar electricity panels
- roof overhangs to block heat from the summer sun
- natural ventilation design to cool the home at night
- passive solar design with slate floors to retain solar heat
- double insulated walls
- triple pane windows
- bamboo flooring and stairs
- built-in recycling centre
- non-toxic paints and finishes
- natural outdoor landscaping
- compact fluorescent lights
For more Green Building Information, please visit the following websites:
HGTV-Pro – Green Building: A great starting site for green construction and/or remodeling. The site contains lots of informative articles and videos for beginners and industry professionals wanting to make their homes more environmentally friendly.
Canada Green Building Council: The Canada Green Building Council is home of the LEED Standard (Leadership in Energy and Design) which is gaining momentum as a rating system for green building across Canada.
Green Building: This site also shows the ins and outs of green building and even illustrates a case study on net zero energy homes. The site has information for homeowners and industry professionals and offers training sessions for green building.
Sustainable Concrete: This site is dedicated to the subject of sustainable concrete use, which is of utmost importance in the consideration of green building project.
