LandMark- Green Building

Building Green
Living Green
Recycling Fun Facts

“Environmental responsibility does not always mean sacrifice. Sometimes, it simply means making smart decisions.” According to Energy Information Administration, “over half (53%) of your home’s energy is used for heating and cooling. Water heating accounts for another 17%. The rest is used by lighting, refrigeration, and other appliances. The best way to cut your home’s carbon footprint is to increase the efficiency of your heating, air conditioning, and water heating appliances.” Per Elite News (Winter 2008)

Below are some options to build green:
(not listed in any particular order)

Sealed can lights
Recycled products

Reclaimed wood
Recycled siding
Eco-friendly doors made from salvaged materials

Tight-house techniques
- Highly insulated walls and ceilings
  - expansion foam (exterior walls and underside of roof sheathing; seals all penetrations)
  - cellulose (spray-applied dry or wet mix of high R-value* material that completely fills a cavity so there are no voids around plumbing, wires, etc.; easily replaced and reused)
    - *R-value measures how well an insulated product resists the flow of heat or cold through it; the higher the R-value, the great the insulation power
  - Moisture and air barriers
    - Shed and vent moisture away from the home’s frame
    - Use integral grooves to direct water to the weepholes
  - Radiant barriers
    - Wood- or foam- based panel with a reflective layer adhered to one face; reflects/reduces the sun’s heat, which reduces moisture and humidity (i.e. in the attic)
    - ThermastrandTM radiant barrier roof sheathing
  - Mold-resistant drywall
Watershed systems
Water reclamation systems
- i.e. catch storm water runoff to be reused in the home’s sprinkler system
Alternatives to stick framing
- ICF (insulated concrete forms)
  - First level structural system
  - All-in-one system that covers both the structural components and the insulation
  - Better energy efficiency, sound attenuation, mold resistance, and long-term durability
- Structural Engineered Lumber
  - Produced from abundant timber species
  - Maintains the renewable resource benefits of wood
  - Ability to span longer distance and carry more load than milled material
- SIP (Structural Insulated Panels)
  - Wood-based derivative
  - Reduces material waste and labor costs by combining framing, insulation, and sheathing into one product
  - Easier to create a tighter structure
- Precast concrete panels
  - Most industrial of the structural alternatives
  - Provides labor, material and time efficiencies
  - Impressive moisture resistance, sound attenuation, and thermal transmission benefits (used successfully in commercial building for decades)
Efficient and systematic approach to mechanical systems
Considering the sum of its parts…including heating and cooling, air quality and ventilation, distribution, lighting, and control.
- Heating and cooling (HVAC)
  - The heart of the approach
  - Centrally located on floor plan
  - Insulated ductwork running through conditioned or semi-conditioned space
  - AC efficiency is expressed in SEERs (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio)
    - 13 SEER is standard/baseline
    - The higher the SEER, the less you spend for air conditioning
- Programmable thermostat
  - Menu-driven controls allow homeowners to set the temperature of each zone depending on its use throughout the day
- Water heaters
  - Instant or on-demand water heaters – delivers hot water at a preset temperature
  - Tankless water heater
  - Solar water heater
- Lighting
  - Leverage as much natural daylight as possible
  - Use compact fluorescent bulbs (CFL) for artificial light
- Solar and photovoltaic (PV) panels
  - Leverage the sun’s energy to offset the power grid (for appliances and heating water)
Windows, skylights, glass doors
- Insulated (dual-pane) units – especially with Low-E coatings; gas fills between the panes
- Window frames – vinyl cladding over finger-jointed wood profiles
- Low-E glass for windows and doors
  - Even greater energy savings with Low-E 366
  - Energy Star rated windows
Appliances (Energy Star rated if available)
- Ovens – control of cooking cycle; automatic operation
- Dishwashers – less water and detergent to clean; less energy to dry
- Refrigerators – separate cooling zones
- Laundry – less water and detergent to clean; less energy to dry
- Mini-appliances (wine chillers, ice-maker, warming drawer) – deliver specific capabilities; more reliable and controlled energy
Paints and Coatings
- Formulated with low or no volatile organic compounds (VOC)
Wood Floor
- Engineered wood substrates with thin veneers of various timber species
Carpet and Resilient Floor Finishes
- With recycled content

Not listed in any particular order

Recycle…from pop cans to newspapers to rechargeable batteries
Use rechargeable batteries
Turn off lights and other equipment when not in use
Set your thermostat to run more efficiently while you are outside the home; also, offset your thermostat 2 degrees to reduce total operating hours
Change a light bulb – compact florescent light bulbs use 2/3 less energy than standard incandescent bulbs to provide the same amount of light, and they last 10 times longer
Choose Energy Star appliances and office equipment – the energy savings will pay back the initial extra investment within a couple years
Get a home energy audit – check for drafts; caulk holes and cracks in walls, ceilings and doors; use a programmable thermostat (so the system runs more efficiently when no one is home); insulate the water heater; seal and insulate the heating and cooling ducts (many utilities will assist with this audit process)
Get regular HVAC system maintenance/tune-ups
Stock your kitchen with food from your local farmer – this not only supports your local economy, but will also assist in reducing fossil fuels used to transport foods
Use less stuff – live lightly, voluntary simplicity (aka sustainable living); a home that requires less also costs less
Hand wash delicate clothes over dry cleaning when possible
Purchase/use tissues, paper towels, toilet paper and other paper products made from recycled paper
Print on both sides of a sheet of paper
Distribute documents electronically vs. printing hard copies
Use renewable energy (i.e. electricity supplied from energy sources such as wind)
Water conservation
Plant a tree

SIReview, February 2008

Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a TV for three hours.
An aluminum can that is thrown away will still be a can 500 years from now.
There is no limit to the amount of times an aluminum can may be recycled.
Once an aluminum can is recycled, it can be part of a new can within six weeks.
If all our newspaper was recycled, we could save about 250 million trees a year.
Twenty-seven percent of the newspapers produced in America are recycled.
If Americans recycled just one-tenth of their newspapers, we would save about 25 million trees a year.
Each ton (2000 pounds) of recycled paper can save 17 trees, 380 gallons of oil, three cubic yards of landfill space, 4000 kilowatts of energy and 7000 gallons of water. This represents a 64% energy savings, a 58% water savings and 60 pounds less of air pollution.
The amount of wood and paper we throw away each year is enough to heat 50 million homes for 20 years.
Americans use 2,500,000 plastic bottles every hour, and many of them are thrown away. Americans throw away 25 million plastic beverage bottles every hour.
Plastic bags and other plastic garbage thrown into the ocean kill as many as one million sea creatures every year.
Americans throw away 25 billion Styrofoam coffee cups every year.
Every month we throw out enough glass bottles and jars to fill up a skyscraper. All of these jars could have been recycled.
The energy saved from recycling one glass bottle can run a 100-watt bulb for four hours. It also causes 20% less air pollution and 50% less water pollution than when a new bottle is made from raw materials.
A modern glass bottle would take 4000 years or more to decompose – and even longer if it’s in the landfill.
On average, it costs $30 per ton to recycle trash, $50 to send it to the landfill and $65 to $75 to incinerate it.
The United States is the number one trash-producing country in the world, generating 1609 pounds per person per year. This means that 5% of the world’s population generates 40% of the world’s waste.

(SIReview, February 2008)

Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a TV for three hours.
An aluminum can that is thrown away will still be a can 500 years from now.
There is no limit to the amount of times aluminum may be recycled.
Once an aluminum can is recycled, it can be part of a new can within six weeks.
If all our newspaper was recycled, we could save about 250 million trees a year.
Twenty-seven percent of the newspapers produced in America are recycled.
If Americans recycled just one-tenth of their newspapers, we would save about 25 million trees a year.
Each ton (2000 pounds) of recycled paper can save 17 trees, 380 gallons of oil, three cubic yards of landfill space, 4000 kilowatts of energy and 7000 gallons of water. This represents a 64% energy savings, a 58% water savings and 60 pounds less of air pollution.
The amount of wood and paper we throw away each year is enough to heat 50 million homes for 20 years.
Americans use 2,500,000 plastic bottles every hour, and many of them are thrown away. Americans throw away 25 million plastic beverage bottles every hour.
Plastic bags and other plastic garbage thrown into the ocean kill as many as one million sea creatures every year.
Americans throw away 25 billion Styrofoam coffee cups every year.
Every month we throw out enough glass bottles and jars to fill up a skyscraper. All of these jars could have been recycled.
The energy saved from recycling one glass bottle can run a 100-watt bulb for four hours. It also causes 20% less air pollution and 50% less water pollution than when a new bottle is made from raw materials.
A modern glass bottle would take 4000 years or more to decompose – and even longer if it’s in the landfill.
On average, it costs $30 per ton to recycle trash, $50 to send it to the landfill and $65 to $75 to incinerate it.
The United States is the number one trash-producing country in the world, generating 1609 pounds per person per year. This means that 5% of the world’s population generates 40% of the world’s waste.