Planning to build a green home can be confusing.What makes a green home green?What factors are most important and why? 

Factors such as, building envelope, energy efficiency, indoor air quality, renewable energy, local conditions and green materials have significant effects on the health and efficiency of our homes. Deciding what matters the most to you and your family is up to you.

Protecting your home from the elements is one of the most important considerations. The building envelope is the separation between the interior and exterior of a home (essentially, it is the outer shell). This separation is usually made up of walls, a roof, and a foundation and is an important factor in the home’s efficiency.

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When shopping for an energy efficient washer and dryer, you might find that most washers are front loading (also know as vertical-axis washers).

So, what is it that makes a front loading washer more efficient than a top loading (horizontal-axis) washer?

According to Energy Star, front loading washers are up to 40% more efficient than top loaders.

Top loading washers fill the tub with about 40 gallons of water in order to soak the entire load of laundry.

The tub of a front loading washer rotates so that laundry tumbles into a smaller amount of water (18-25 gallons) at the bottom of the washer, therefore, the tub does not need to be filled completely.

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Note from Your Green Neighbor: Occasionally I will profile little tasks that are easy to do and yield big benefits when it comes to improving the performance of your home’s efficiency and the environment.

A good way to go green is by starting small.

Sure, recycling cans and bottles is a pretty standard practice and throwing away used batteries is no longer a habit of yours, but what about taking it a step further?

Did you know that replacing incandescent bulbs (typical household light bulbs) in your home with compact fluorescent bulbs (aka CFLs) is a small task with big benefits?

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