Sustainable Home Design: Building and Living Green Every Single Day

 

Buildings and services must adhere to the values of economic, societal, and ecological sustainability before they can be classified under the label, sustainable home design. Eliminating “negative environmental impact completely through skilful, sensitive design” (J.F. McLennan, 2004) is the intention of sustainable architecture.

 

 

In mid-2009 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) joined forces to live out these values by creating an interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities. This merger hopes to improve access to affordable housing and sustainable home design, more transportation options, and lower transportation costs while protecting the environment in communities worldwide.

 

But you don’t have to wait on these agencies: increasingly homeowners are thinking of ways to counter or help prevent global warming. Your sustainable housing project can incorporate features like gardens that will thrive without harming the environment. Patios and walkways etc. can be built using recycled materials. When building these features, you can help the recycling effort by using old newspapers as weed barriers – they work surprisingly well.

 

Still, it’s nice to know public buildings like the California DOT headquarters in Los Angeles, the San Francisco Federal Building, and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration satellite operations center in Suitland, MD, incorporate principles used in sustainable home design such as green roofs, daylighting, natural ventilation, solar power and thermally efficient outer-wall designs.

 

Designing sustainable homes involves much more than just using recycled materials and putting together energy efficient design into a home; it also involves creating a safe and healthy indoor environment, built of materials that will last. It should never overlook important issues, such as mold and moisture control, that affect the long-term well being of the inhabitants and the house itself.