What are some examples of sustainable building within the home?

Question

I am writing a paper on what needs to be changed in terms of the materials and energy uses within the home, suprisingly I haven't found much on the internet...

Answer 1

You can look into Straw Bale houses, rammed earth homes and building, Adobe building, Earth sheltered building.

Energy reduction schemes, like means to reduce water use- composting toilets.

ENergy use, thermal collectors and passive thermal systems.

Alternative lighting, sun tubes, fiberoptics, LED lights, solar and wind systems.

There is a LOT on the net, part is in the search adn how you look.

http://www.strawbale.com/

http://www.greenhomebuilding.com/rammede...

http://www.compostingtoilet.org/

http://www.lehmans.com/

http://www.motherearthnews.com/

Keep looking

Kay

Answer 2

Travel & Leisure magazine in November provided a list of 15 hotels they considered the greenest in the world. They included both the criteria and the features that made each hotel a winner. Lots of ideas in there. Click on the blue bit at http://www.pokerpulse.com/gogreen.php where it says:

STILL MORE reasons ...  

"Say no to gambling travel. Refuse to be a contributor to the especially devestating environmental impact of air travel for the sake of gambling.

Gamble Green BONUS! When you avoid the carbon cost of air travel ..."

A word of caution - Watch out for claptraps like green roofs and rooftop gardens http://www.bccondos.ca/forums/viewtopic.... UNLESS there is a dependable legion of highly-skilled builders with construction experience in Germany, a place where they seem to know how to build these things. They must have real engineers there. Maybe Eastern Europe, too. Definitely not in B.C.!

Answer 3

My son sent me a nice link to a housing project in New Orleans using "green" and sustainable building materials.  

As I recall, they had things like bamboo flooring, since bamboo is fast growing and replenishable, unlike old forest hardwoods.

I'll look for the link and add it as an edit, but until I do, you could search for "Brad Pitt" "rebuilding New Orleans" as search terms.

Answer 4

Material usage like insulation:  soy foams, recycled bluejeans, newspaper.  Orientation of the house in line with the natural arc of the sun.  Foliage locations around the house to provide shading during summer, and max solar heat during the winter.  Window placement, use of mass to retain solar heat.  

Point of use hot water heaters.  Geothermal Heating and Cooling, if used during the building phase coupled with radiant floors and walls.  Hay bale construction, Adobe construction.  Recycled glass retained from condemned buildings.  Recycled glass counter tops.   Smart use of space to minimize the area which need to be heated and cooled.  Proper window placement for optimal airflow during warmer months.  

Use of materials which are generally readily available, but last a long time.  Perhaps reuse of fly ash to make bricks and blocks (radiation issue?).  Locally procured items like regular clay bricks if can be purchased a reasonable costs.  Pressed earth, site made dried pressed bricks (height/weight limits).  Concrete and steel if strength is a consideration.  I know it's hard to think of concrete as "green" but there are some green advantages to certain products.  Some have very high "R-value" which negates the need for much insulation.

Water sequestration and reuse, for instance rain water use for irrigation of lawn or garden.  Grey water use for fertilizing plants.  Energy efficient appliances, Climate monitoring system.  Air treatment systems which neutralize contaminated air before entering into the home.