No Longer a Trend, Green Building is a Tried and True Way to Build for a Sustainable Future
Even 10 years ago, people used to shrug their shoulders and cock their head to one side when you told them that you were into 
green building consulting and energy efficiency. I wouldn’t say that things have gone mainstream, but yeah, things have gone main stream. With more builders, developers and architects getting the education about how to build in a more sustainable and energy efficient manner, the dollars and cents of it all are starting to add up into just making cents into sense. Many architects add sustainability features into their design plans without even knowing that they are “going green” because of a long standing sense of beauty that comes from the final product, such as eves and overhangs that shade from sun, or useable front porches. How about using 16 on center for structural integrity for a more energy efficient framing program and more cost effective use of lumber? Everyone likes when costs go down on a build, right?So, what is green building really, aside from the idea that the home will be more kind to the environment, so to speak?
Green Building Defined
Green building is the practice of understanding the construction science that incorporates the air quality, water quality and 
ultimately the energy consumption of the building and of course, the products selected to actually construct the building. When you take all of these elements and design a plan that incorporates the acknowledgement of each part, you can work to create a building that functions as a system. How many times have you heard me talk about the house as a system? It is true! The awesome thing is that there are so many different levels of sustainable building from someone just doing the bare minimum just to improve their indoor air quality, to a home that is entirely net-zero (a home that has zero-energy emissions or off-put annually)! If you want to talk more about the true meaning of green building and energy efficiency, let’s start a conversation!
