Four Green Home Design Basics

The way we humans are currently living isn't going to be sustainable for long. This is something we become more aware of as we see its effects on the environment. And so green home design, formerly a small market, is spreading steadily over the world. Some experts predict that green home design will soon make up a huge slice of the real estate industry.

In the United States, homes create 38% of the total carbon emissions. So in the fight on global warming, how we choose to build our homes (with green home design or without it) is going to have a huge effect on our future. If you're looking to incorporate a bit of green home design, there are a hundred small things you can do to "green-up" your home. But if you're seriously interested in reducing the impact your home has on the environment, there are four basic green home design concepts to follow.

Green Home Design Rule 1: Go Small
There's something gloriously attractive about large, mansion-like homes. But large homes use up an incredible amount of energy for heating and cooling - and this energy generally comes from nasty fossil fuels that destroy our environment. These homes also require more resources for building and create more waste as a result. So if you're looking to incorporate green home design in your building plans, build small.

Green Home Design Rule 2: Incorporate Passive Solar Design
Passive solar cooling and heating is one of the most important elements of green home design. The relatively simple concept behind passive solar design is to design a home according to the climate. In warm climates, design is used to reduce the amount of heat absorbed by the home. In colder areas, design is used to reduce the amount of heat lost. To do this, green home design is incorporated into the orientation of the building, the location of the windows, the flooring (stone is best), and other elements of the home to reduce the amount of energy wasted.

Green Home Design Rule 3: Use Recyclable or Renewable Materials
Unfortunately, almost all the materials you use in your home will harm the environment, either during manufacturing or transportation to your home. The use of renewable or recycled materials which are manufactured locally helps to reduce the damage building can have on the environment. Consider installing bamboo or recycled wood flooring and incorporate a green home design using recycled materials, such as cellulose insulation and lumber composites, throughout the home.

Green Home Design Rule 4: Optimize your Heating and Cooling
Heat and AC systems are the most energy-consuming elements in almost any home. And even though the thought of the hot summer months might make an oversized air conditioning system sound pretty tempting, this kind of cooling is as anti-green as you can get. Large AC systems overcool the air, and tend to cycle on and off too frequently. This constant on-and-off cycle gives large AC systems a short lifespan, making them create extra waste along with using up extra fuel.

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