construction

Part 2 of our 15-part Q&A series on all aspects of green building from the publishers of HealthyHouseInstitute.com. Click here for the introductory post and furthur details.

Question: Are there any particular products that stand out as being serious indoor polluters?

Answer: Offenders include manufactured wood products, which give off a lot of formaldehyde, such as particle board and furniture-grade plywood. These materials are almost universally used in paneling and cabinetry.

Combustion appliances can be bothersome—if they aren’t totally sealed. This includes wood stoves, fireplaces, gas ranges, and many gas and oil hot water heaters and furnaces. They’re potentially dangerous because they can inadvertently introduce noxious gases such as carbon monoxide into the air you breathe. Eliminating these items will help to create a house that is considerably healthier than most homes. However, it may not be healthy enough for people who are more sensitive than average, or for people who want the best possible indoor air quality.

Question: Do you have a particular set of guidelines you follow?

Some more SIPs cheering... here's an excellent 3 minute video showing you the benefits of building with Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) from a non-sales biased point of view (HGTV Pro's website). It also shows how they are put together, saving you time, money and the planet!

http://www.hgtvpro.com/hpro/pac_ctnt/text/0,2595,HPRO_20196_55073,00.html?c=484&videoid=66936

The state of Virginia has come out with an official stance and plan supporting grey water recycling.
Counties should take notice, as well as builders and contractors.
Our wonderful contractor has already planned to install grey and black water pipes in our kit house, the casa ti which we are building in Charlotte County.

This functionality should also be written into any construction loans / green building loans that are being crafted.

(From http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news.PrintView.-content-articles-RTD-2007-...)

Wastewater treated as a resource
State board approves its reuse for irrigation, industrial needs

Wednesday, Dec 05, 2007 - 12:08 AM

By REX SPRINGSTON
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

Localities treat water from rivers and aquifers so you can drink it.
But a lot of that drinking water also is used to run factories, wash cars and flush toilets.
The State Water Control Board voted unanimously yesterday to try a new approach.
The board approved a program that encourages cities and counties to send wastewater from their sewage plants -- water from toilets and similar sources that is treated to reduce germs -- to be used for activities that don't require pure tap water.
Otherwise, that wastewater would be dumped into rivers.

"This has the potential to remove a lot of wastewater from the streams of Virginia and apply it to beneficial uses," water board Chairman Shelton Miles said. "It's the ultimate in recycling."
The program should lessen demand for tap water, enabling localities to cope better with growth, experts say.

For the average person, the program could mean a more reliable water supply during droughts.
"We've been reminded in 2007, and we were reminded in 2002" -- another drought year -- "how difficult it sometimes is to count on how much water we have," said Bill Hayden, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Quality. The DEQ provides staff for the water board.
The water-recycling program, which still requires some tweaks, should begin next year. However, it could take years for the program to take off, because new pipes will have to be laid to carry the recycled water.

Some of the recycled wastewater could be used in activities where people aren't exposed to it. That would include irrigating crops that people don't eat, such as trees and cotton; controlling construction dust; watering livestock; and cooling industrial equipment.
Wastewater that is cleaner but still not as pure as drinking water could be used in activities where people might be exposed to it, such as firefighting, watering lawns and the flushing of toilets in businesses.

The program will not allow recycled water to go to residential toilets, largely because there would be little control on home plumbers who might mistakenly connect wastewater to a tap.
Water recycling is being used in a few places in Virginia now.
The Hampton Roads Sanitation District, a regional agency, sends about 500,000 gallons of wastewater a day from its sewage plant in York County to the Western Refining Yorktown Inc. petroleum refinery on the York River, less than a mile away.
"The alternative is buying tap water, which is better used in supplying houses, etc.," said Dave Pavlich, the refinery's environmental compliance manager.

In the spring, Chesterfield County will begin sending about 8 million gallons of treated wastewater a day from its Proctor's Creek sewage plant to Dominion Virginia Power's nearby plant at Dutch Gap. The water will be used in a process that reduces air pollution.
That arrangement will keep nearly all of that wastewater, which contains nutrients that cause algae, out of the James River. Most of the water will evaporate, said Dominion spokesman Dan Genest.

State officials hope a formal program will encourage similar arrangements.
Water recycling has worked for years in states such as California, Arizona and Florida, experts say.

In a perfect world, all new homes would be built with the environment in mind. They would be energy efficient, healthy, and beautiful. Unfortunately, this type of scenario is not yet a reality.

However, that hasn't stopped regulators from making some serious green building goals. Last month, California energy regulators proposed a zero-energy requirement for new homes. And, the California Public Utilities Commission approved their proposal -- that all homes built after 2020 be required to produce at least as much energy as they consume to reduce demand for electricity and cut pollution.

In a post at Inhabitat, they called the potential impact that this could have on the building industry "enormous," and liken it to California's formaldehyde standard.

We agree!

In 2005, the state of Washington passed the first green building legislation, making it against the law for any building over 5,000 square-feet to not meet or exceed LEED standards.

But what role should regulations and legislation play in the world of green building? Do we need more or less?

Image via btsider; flickr.com 

Developers and enforcers of the widely used LEED standard for green building, the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) has established a new set of standards specifically for schools.

The LEED for Schools Rating System recognizes the unique nature of the design and construction of K-12 schools. Based on LEED for New Construction, it addresses issues such as classroom acoustics, master planning, mold prevention, and environmental site assessment.

By addressing the uniqueness of school spaces and children's health issues, LEED for schools provides a unique, comprehensive tool for schools that wish to build green, with measurable results. LEED for Schools is the recognized third-party standard for high-performance schools that are healthy for students, comfortable for teachers, and cost-effective.

As of September 20th, 380 schools all over the country have registered to be certified under this new LEED system. Ranging from certified to gold level, 57 schools have already become official. The many benefits of green schools; including those for students, teachers and the planet; are touted all over the Build Green Schools website.

Ready to take action in your local community? Find out if there is a local Green Schools Advocate chapter already established in your region. Next, learn all you can about green building for schools with USGBC's Green Schools 101 online program (including a video, project profiles and money saving details). Finally, connect with others around the country who are working to make a difference as well; share tips, experiences, successes and pitfalls.

According to new study from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), regulation is the most effective means to achieve greenhouse gas emission reductions from buildings - "a sector which accounts for some 30-40 % of global energy use."

Released in a study titled "Assessment of policy instruments for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from buildings" at the Sustainable Buildings 07 conference in Prague two days ago, these findings are vital to the continued development of the green construction industry.

"According to the latest assessments of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, around 30 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced by 2020 by measures such as improved energy efficiency in residential and commercial buildings. Importantly, this could lead to gains in global GDP-not costs," said Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director

"The new UNEP SBCI study demonstrates the critical roles that governments need to take in establishing, implementing, and enforcing regulatory policies so as to realize these emission reductions and these environmental, social and economics gains," he said.

Interested in reading the report yourself? Supported by a database that showcases the lessons learned from the 80 case studies, copies can be downloaded from the UNEP Sustainable Buildings and Construction Initiative website.

[via ENN]

RELATED:

+ Hooray for Hollywood: Green Building Goes Mandatory

Here's an important roundup of news and articles from the past week that affect green building, or the future of green building. 

• Housing Slowdown offers a chance to get real about HOME SIZES ... good design and quality construction ultimately will prove more worthwhile than square footage.
• Nine ways to make your home more energy efficient.
• Thin Film PV market could top $7 billion by 2015 ... low cost, low weight, ease of manufacturing, and success on roof, wall, and window applications is driving the growth (see also Nanosolar Video).
• U.S. House of Representatives passed a Democratic rewrite of U.S. energy policy that strips $16 billion in tax incentives away from Big Oil and puts it toward renewable energy sources like wind and solar power.

Also posted at Jetson Green in the Week in Review Column.

By John Bower

Many people don't like the idea of living in a tight house, even though there are a number of significant disadvantages to the alternative (loose construction). In a loose house, air moves through the cracks, but only part of the time. Most new houses today are too tight to give you the amount of fresh air you really need, but too loose to keep pollutants out effectively.

When outdoor air moves through the cracks of a house into the living space, it brings with it pollutants contained in the outdoor air. Plus, it picks up additional pollutants along the way as it passes through the cracks, such as tiny particles of insulation, odors from the resin holding the insulation together, and tiny pieces of insects that have died inside the walls. Radon is also often pulled from the soil into the living space through the cracks of a loose house.

Air moving through cracks can also result in hidden moisture condensation, and that can lead to mold growth, rot, termites, or carpenter ants. Here's what happens: All air contains moisture in the form of water vapor. If you cool a given batch of air enough, that vapor condenses into liquid water. So, if air passing through the cracks in a wall reaches a cool surface, it can condense there, hidden inside the wall cavity where you likely won't know anything is wrong until you have a serious problem. This can happen in the winter, when warm indoor air passes through the wall toward the outdoors and hits the back side of the cold sheathing or siding. It can also happen in the summer, when hot, humid, outdoor air passes through the cracks and hits the back surface of the drywall, which is cool because the inside of the house is air conditioned.

Leaky houses can also be energy hogs. In the winter, the warm air leaks out and the cold air leaks in, and your heating bills can skyrocket. In the summer, the opposite happens. Hot, humid air leaks in and cool air leaks out, but the result is the same (high energy bills.) When you analyze the issue, there are absolutely no advantages to loose construction. So, even if you're only remodeling or adding a room, it's a good idea to tighten as much as possible.

Read the rest of this article on the Healthy House Institute's website.

image stock.exchange

We hope that someday soon all mainstream building practices will be green, and we won’t have to use the word “green” to describe these best practices. In the meantime, to help spread the word and build awareness among real estate shoppers, homeowners, developers, and, well, everyone else who lives in a house, Building Green TV has partnered with real estate advisors RCLCO (Robert Charles Lesser & Co.) to bring you ongoing research on green homebuilding trends.

There is good news. Including signs that green building is well on the way to going mainstream. RCLCO reports in a recent survey of home builders that 40%-50% of homes built in 2010 are expected to employ green construction methods.

But there’s still a long way to go. Commercial construction is leading the green building movement. 50% of new construction is residential, yet residential construction comprises only 5% of all green building today.

The environment presents a challenging market position for home buyers, who are largely unaware of the impact homes have on global warming. The EPA estimates that buildings contribute as much as 40% of our environmental impact. By contrast, 73% of homeowners thought their homes had either “no impact” or an “acceptable impact” on the environment.

Only 3% of home buyers check off “environmental methods and materials” as a purchasing priority, though 10% list energy savings, and environmental interests are not incompatible with the most popular motivators like change in family status, retirement, and moving up to capitalize on appreciation.

RCLCO and Building Green will be bringing you a lot more hard information like this over the coming weeks, so check back often for updates.