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Archive for December 9th, 2009

It’s time to make changes in our lifestyle to protect our environment. And what better than choosing to buy a “green” home to help for this cause. There are a few thinks which you have to keep in mind when you plan to buy a green home.

Location: Green home should not be built in areas that are environmentally sensitive like farmlands, wetlands or forest reserves. The best options for green home construction are former shopping mall areas, rail yards, factories etc. The home should be easily accessible by public transportation like buses, metro or subways. This way you can walk to the station and leave your cars at home, thereby saving fuel and creating less pollution. Not only this, green homes should be in an area which has easy access to shopping area, hospitals, schools etc. You can either walk or bicycle to these places and cut down on energy consumption to a great extent. Size: Bigger homes consume more power as they need more energy to heat or cool the entire house. So if you are looking for a green home, you should opt for smaller homes. Building design: The house should be built in such a way that it allows plenty of sunlight into the house. More natural daylight will reduce lighting requirements.  Plenty of windows and skylights can be used to achieve this. You should have plenty of shady trees on the outside of the house in order to protect your house from getting warm in hot weather. The warmer the house gets, the more energy will be required to cool it.  Sunshades or canopies can also be used to provide shade. Make sure that the roof is light colored so that it will absorb lesser heat thereby keeping the house cooler. Building material: You should use low-VOC paint to paint your house. This paint is healthier and less toxic. Non-toxic material like strawboard can be used for sub-flooring. Bamboo can be used to replace wood as it is renewable and also looks good. Energy units: Make sure that the HVAC unit installed in your house is an efficient one which uses less energy. Windows and exterior doors should have energy star rating. Check the windows to make sure that they are their openings are sealed properly to ensure less heat gain in summer and less heat loss in winter. Renewable energy: You can use photovoltaic systems to generate energy on your own. Photovoltaics (PV) is the field of technology and research related to the application of solar cells for energy by converting sun energy (sunlight, including sun ultra violet radiation) directly into electricity. You can use Home lighting Systems which are powered by solar energy using solar cells that convert solar energy (sunlight) directly to electricity. The electricity is stored in batteries and used for the purpose of lighting whenever required. You can also install water turbine in your backyard to generate your own electricity to protect the environment.