The Building Blocks of Green
Planning to build or renovate can be a complicated, stressful process requiring many difficult decisions. Building with the environment in mind adds to the complexity and number of decisions that need to be made.
Oftentimes, books and magazines devoted to green building, design, or renovating feature beautiful homes with all the latest and greatest products and building techniques devoted to saving energy and resources. They are amazing homes, but unfortunately, trying to recreate these perfect, 100% green homes in real-world situations is sometimes simply not possible for many homeowners. Many times, budget constraints limit what can and can't be done with a home plan, adding stress to the planning process as the homeowner attempts to do it all at once and recreate the picture-perfect homes in the design magazines.
At Green Home Source, we are well-aware of the realities of everyday life. A luxurious new home that uses very little energy and water is a goal we should all attain to; those that can make a 100% green home a reality should certainly do so. But what about the rest of us, who maybe can't go "all the way green" but want to do our part to create a more sustainable future?
Green Home Source wants you to know that this "all or nothing" approach to green homebuilding isn't the only way. To move past the polluting, non-renewable, non-sustainable way things have been done for so long will take millions of us, from every walk of life, making changes big and small. We're obviously interested in doing the big things, but we also firmly believe that if many homeowners start the green journey with small steps, even one small step, we can together make the world, and our homes, a cleaner, healthier place to live.
We take a "building block" approach to green home design; in fact, it forms the basis for everything we hope to accomplish with Green Home Source. By giving homeowners the knowledge to make informed decisions, our goal is to make homes greener in the most efficient and money-saving way possible.
The Building Block Concept
As mentioned earlier, there are literally thousands of decisions that go into every new home or renovation project. Choosing the most energy-saving and sustainable products and materials adds an additional layer to those decisions. Think of the Building Block approach as "sustainability triage;" if a 100% green home isn't a realistic possibility, for whatever reason, then what green decisions will make the biggest difference, save the most energy, water, resources, and money, with the lowest up-front financial investment?Some building products or construction techniques save much more energy than others; some green products cost much more than others. Building Blocks will help identify those areas to focus on first; steps that are less difficult than others, cost less initially, and save the most amount of energy. By starting with the areas that give the biggest bang for the buck, a homeowner can achieve the greatest level of green available to their particular circumstances and payback their green investments in the shortest amount of time. In time, more Building Block areas can be added, creating an ever-greener home.
Everybody doing something to create more sustainability in their homes, however big or small, is the key to a better tomorrow. Do something. Do anything. But start doing it today. It all counts.
Let's get started: Click HERE to see the Blocks.
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