Green by Design: How I think About Residential Green Building
I first got involved in green building when I renovated my master bedroom a year and a half ago. I hired a local contractor, Byggmeister, with a well-deserved reputation for energy efficient remodeling. But they weren’t really focused on other facets of green building that were a priority to me such as waste management, resource conservation and healthy materials.
So I took on the task of figuring out everything that didn’t have to do with energy. I found a place to recycle the carpeting, tile and toilets we ripped out. I required the lead carpenter to seal our plywood subfloor with AFM Safecoat when I found out that the plywood wasn’t no-added formaldehyde. I insisted on cast iron piping because I didn’t want the “poison plastic” (PVC) in my house.
I got my start in green home consulting largely because of this experience (and because Byggmeister brought me on as a consultant). In the beginning, I was very focused on product selection. What is the greenest carpet or cabinetry or countertop? I spent hours of time hunting for the greenest… whatever, only to find that there are frequently only shades of green and that the “greenest” choice depends on the particulars of the home, the needs and priorities of the occupants, and informed guesstimates about impacts. Green product specification is enormously complex.
But here’s the silver lining: It’s not really as pivotal as I thought it was. As I’ve learned more about green building, I’ve realized that focusing primarily on products and finishes can distract from other equally if not more important facets of green. Recycled tiles, cork flooring, low-VOC paint, and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) cabinetry are great green choices. But they aren’t where I would suggest homeowners focus their energy, at least at first. These products are more like icing on the cake, or accessories to an outfit. They come after other important decisions are made.
To see how this is so, first consider that behind the finish work lies all sorts of materials: framing, insulation, pipes, wires, ductwork, subflooring. Then add to these all the visible but unsexy materials like roofing and mechanical systems and gutters and downspouts. Many of these materials–such as insulation–play a much bigger role in determining the impact of a home than all the finish work put together.
Then consider that decisions about design lie back behind and greatly influence decisions about materials. The process of building a truly green home must begin during the design phase, and more specifically with an effort to fulfill functional requirements and lifestyle objectives while minimizing scope. I would even go so far as to say that the single most important “green” choice that a homeowner can make when building is to minimize scope. The less you build–and in the case of a renovation, the less you change–the less waste you’ll produce, the fewer materials you’ll use, and–most importantly–the less energy and water your home will use over the course of its lifespan.
The importance of subsequent decisions is–at least for me–a toss up. Many in the green building world believe that energy trumps everything else. I believe that the health of the home environment is as important as energy performance. But water use and durability are important as well, as is material/resource conservation.
Of course at some level all design and building decisions involve materials choices. But the salient question isn’t really about this material or that material taken in isolation so much as how each component interacts with everything else and how the home performs as an integrated system. In short, a home isn’t green because its finishing touches are green–although in some cases these can matter a lot (think of dual flush toilets, for example, or LED lighting). A home is green because it performs well overall and over the course of it’s entire lifespan: with lower energy and water bills; higher market value; and healthier, more functional, adaptable and satisfactory living space.
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