Inexpensive Green Strategies for New Construction

The greenest buildings take advantage of low-tech sustainable design principles that incur little or no upfront costs. These are easy to implement when building a new house and can help create a healthier, more comfortable, energy-efficient home.

Solar Orientation

The most energy efficient green strategy is designing and siting your new home to take advantage of solar gain. This design technique is called solar orientation and can reduce heating and cooling costs. If you can tell your left from your right, you can solar-orient your new home as well as the pros.

In northern latitudes solar heat gain is highest on façades that face south. To optimize the way your home uses this free energy align the building on an east-west axis so the largest façade faces south. This allows the sun’s energy to warm your home during winter months and can cut heating costs up to 20%.

When your home is solar-oriented to capture the sun’s warmth in winter you’ll know where to shade in summer. During the cooling season, the southern exposure of your home still gets the most sun but with the sun at a higher aspect so it’s easier to shade.

Use awnings, pergolas or deciduous trees strategically at south-facing windows. All of these simple design considerations offer enough shade to cut your cooling costs up to 40%.

Natural Ventilation

Natural ventilation uses the existing wind patterns that surround your home to cool the interior and provide a more comfortable thermal environment. Placing operable windows to take advantage of thermal convection allows for natural ventilation.

Thermal convection is a simple principle of physics: warm air rises. Even on slight inclines, cross-ventilation can carry warm air out of your home. Another design technique encourages stack-ventilation - providing a path for warm air to enter at a lower elevation and travel upwards through your home.

Stack-ventilation can be facilitated mechanically with whole house and ceiling fans. Both of these elements can draw warm air up and out in hot seasons. With the flip of a switch, fans also help keep warm air circulating comfortably within living spaces in colder months.

Whole-house and ceiling fans reduce the need for air conditioning and help take advantage of natural ventilation. The result is a healthier indoor environment and considerable savings on electricity as fans use a fraction of the energy that AC uses.

Choose Energy Star Appliances

The US EPA Energy Star program makes it easy to choose energy-efficient appliance. The Energy Star program qualifies and labels products that save water, electricity and money.

Energy Star qualified clothes washers typically use 50% less energy than other models and on average use half the amount of water. Energy Star dishwashers use about 40% less energy. Energy Star refrigerators use 15-40% less energy than conventional models.

Energy Star appliances yield perennial savings on utility costs that can add up to hundreds of dollars. And many states offer rebate programs for Energy Star purchases that save energy and reduce pollution.

Go Low Flow

High-efficiency toilets (HET) and showers provide comfort without wasting water, one of the most precious and finite natural resources. These water conserving fixtures can also save you thousands of dollars off your water bill over their lifetime.

In the past, toilets were notorious water wasters using up to 7 gallons per flush. Today’s high-efficiency toilets use less than 1.6 gallons per flush and perform better than outdated models. Many states offer rebates for high-efficiency toilet purchases and homeowners who choose HETs over conventional models can expect annual water bill savings of about 20%.

High-efficiency showerheads offer more water and money savings. Compared to 5.5 gallons per minute (gpm) in the past, today’s low gpm showerheads use 2-2.5 gpm without compromising comfort. This small element in your new home can save you up to $100 per year on your water bill.

*Note: The information in this article is general advice and not meant as a substitute for personal guidance from a financial advisor, real estate professional, general contractor or legal counsel. Although the author is a licensed realtor, the advice given in this article does not constitute any client contract or agreement between the author and the user. The author is not responsible for any losses, damages or claims that may result from your decisions.