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What is a green home?
The term Green Home can mean a lot of things to many people. Does the term mean that your home is painted green? Does it allude to the fact that the color of your home has something special about it? Depending on the level of exposure you may have to trends around home building, or a genuine interest to answer some questions you may have about your home, then it’s certain you may have come across the term at one point or another.
But what exactly is a green home? As you may have discerned, a green home isn’t about the color you clad your house in. It’s about finding ways to utilize the resources needed to live in a more efficient way. In simple terms, a green home is one that uses less energy and water, and also has a reduced reliance on natural resources.
A green home in Atlanta is one that is built to be environmentally friendly, and sustainable to live in. If it is not making a contribution to the environment around it, then it is having a minimal impact on it.
How is a Green Home Constructed?
Quite simply, actually. The main purpose of the home is to reduce the burden on the environment. For this, general activities around the home are put into consideration and then modalities put in place to reduce the burden the home places on the environment. This can be achieved in a variety of ways;
Employing environment friendly materials
These are materials made while avoiding the use of harmful materials. This makes the construction of the house much safer for the contractors building it, and the eventual occupants of the house.
Insulating the home
One of the biggest draws on energy is climate control. Insulating a house means that less heating will be required in winter, and less air conditioning will be required in the summer months. This translates into reduced energy bills for you at the end of the month.
Energy production
Yes, as part of the program, some investments in solar panels for heating water and generation of electricity. These further dents the amount you receive at the end of the month, or even gets rid of electricity from the grid altogether.
Energy efficiency
Even though you may be generating your own power, the appliances you have in the house could be running unabated with the amount of power they draw. As part of a green home strategy, appliances such as washing machines and fridges should be of the low energy consumption variety.
Water Efficiency
Ah yes, this one requires not only investment in techniques, but also a change in habits. Letting water run while you work beside it should absolutely stop. Brushing your teeth or washing the dishes will mean only using water whenever you have to. Also, rainwater collection will have to improve. Where possible, the waste water is cycled into irrigation.
Location
Yes, where the home is located will determine how much emissions from your vehicles will be let out into the environment. When the home is situated closer to public transportation routes, this means you can cut down on emissions by walking to a nearby public transportation site, and only using the vehicle when absolutely necessary.
Okay, that makes sense. But who’s to say whether my home is green?
Yes, the framers of the constitution lived in a very different time in comparison to what is around us today. Throughout the years as well, different sessions of the Congress have come and gone, they’ve made amendments to the constitution, enacted laws but they still haven’t touched on this green home initiative.
Yes, there is no law, or regulation that will determine the minimum levels of what a green home should be. That however doesn’t mean that people cannot themselves make up what is required and hold it as a standard unto themselves. And that’s exactly what has happened here.
Different organizations have come up that use regulations from certain governmental bodies, as well as standards with other areas to come up with a certification. These organizations include;
US Green Building Council, which through its Leadership in Environmental Energy Design (LEED) certification program, came up with certification on four incremental levels.
Environmental Protection Agency came up with two different standards. These are the Indoor AirPLUS which rates the quality of air indoors, and the WaterSense ratings to guide homeowners on what products to get, and the design of those products.
Energy Star is probably the most famous. The blue sticker with a white star on electronic appliances meant they had adhered to certain standards, but then this also was required of construction materials. Whereas before it was just a North American affair, this standard is now getting adopted across the face of the earth.
Green Builders
There are a number of companies who are reputed for building green homes in Atlanta. This here is a list of three of the most popular contractors.
Imery Group
This company was founded by one Luis Imery. What makes him special is the fact that whenever he’s called in, he takes his time to walk the homeowner through everything that needs to get done for the home to be considered a green home. He is also a green rater.
Eco Custom Homes
Here is a company that has been doing this for a very long time. 30 years of living this philosophy not only makes them a veteran, but a very powerful resource when it comes to construction of green homes. They will sit down the homeowners, designers and the contractors and they will leverage all their experience to ensure the client is happy with what they will get from the project.
Cablik Enterprises
If you’re looking for people with awards to show for their efforts, then this is one you should consider. Cablik believe that a green home is not just something to set you apart from the rest, it should be a way of life for every homeowner.
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