Windows are important to the efficiency of our homes and often account for a significant portion of our heating and cooling bills. New technologies are beginning to address common issues, such as solar heat gain and insulation, so that we can expect more from our windows in the future.

What is a SHGC?

Windows allow sunlight into our homes. Sunlight is composed of short and long wavelengths. The short wavelengths represent the visible light that makes our homes bright and sunny. The long wavelengths produce the heat we feel from that sunlight. This heat is also known as solar radiation.

The amount of solar radiation transmitted through a window is represented by the Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC), a number between 0 and 1. A window with a high SHGC allows a lot of solar radiation into your home. The heat provided can be welcome in colder climates, but provides unnecessary heat in warmer climates. A window with a low SHGC blocks solar radiation, which reduces the need for air-conditioning in summer but is not ideal for cold climates.

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LEED has made quite an impact in the green building world and more buildings are beginning to receive recognition for their designs. But how does LEED determine which buildings get to don the highly recognized plaque? They use a consensus-based point system that determines a building’s level of sustainability and ranks it accordingly.

LEED’s ranking system may not be an exact measure of sustainability, but it provides the structure necessary to evaluate the construction and operation of a building and its environmental impacts. The ranking system is built from six categories that are used to evaluate a design. Each category has a maximum amount of points that can be earned. Below is a description of these categories:
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Last week I took a tour of NEXUS, Boston’s Green Building Resource Center. An very knowledgeable employee of NEXUS, Shoshana Friedman, showed me around their new space on 38 Chauncy Street in Boston.

NEXUS is more or less the epicenter of green building resources for Boston, MA. It has a product showroom, a material and resource library, space for events, and provide a place for people studying for LEED certification. You can also take a tour of the building from their friendly staff!

I was curious if other similar green building centers exist. They’re a little hard to find—a quick search I did turned up one in Atlanta and one in Santa Monica (which is actually co-sponsored by Global Green USA). Let us know if your searches turn up other green building centers in different parts of the country.

In addition to serving as an educational resource to the building community, NEXUS is a working example of green products in use. They are currently in the process of being LEED certified under the Commercial Interior (CI) bracket. Here are a few “green” features that I found interesting:

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Part of building a home with renewable energy systems, such as solar panels, is deciding whether or not it should be connected to the electrical grid. There are numerous considerations — namely practical, economic, and environmental –involved in making your decision.

However, this choice can be difficult without a good understanding of what the terms grid-tied and off-grid actually mean. A grid-tied home is connected to power lines which transmit electricity to the home, mainly from power plants, yet can also produce power on-site using renewable energy systems. An off-grid home is not connected to power lines and, therefore, it relies solely on renewable energy systems to produce electricity and storage systems such as batteries to mediate the supply.

As we examine the practical implementation, cost, and environmental impact of each, we’ll see how being connected to the electrical grid is typically more beneficial than being completely detached from the predictable source of electricity and storage it provides.

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Imagine going outside in the dead of winter without a warm coat—what happens?

Your body loses a lot of heat and has to work really hard to keep you from freezing. Wearing your coat makes it so your body doesn’t have to work as hard to churn out the BTUs.

Insulation offers similar benefits by keeping valuable air from escaping from your home. But what makes one insulation different from another?

Understanding the properties of insulation, such as R-Value, installation method and its part in controlling air-infiltration, can help you make more informed decisions when choosing insulation.

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New products such as, bamboo flooring or structural insulated panels are making it possible to build healthier, greener homes.

Impact resistant windows are just one of the advances that can make a significant difference in protecting our homes.

Leaving your home vulnerable to hurricane force winds and other damaging conditions can affect the health and life span of your home.

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When the U.S. Green Building Council was founded in 1993 it didn’t appear that it would be just an environmental movement. The Council (known as USGBC) sought a marketable approach to green building as a way to transform the built environment.

Out of this idea came the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program, launched in 2000.

According to Richard Fedrizzi, who became USGBC’s CEO in 2003, LEED was meant to “transform the marketplace towards sustainable building.”

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Architect, Sarah Susanka, has helped reduced the popularity of McMansions by introducing a quainter lifestyle, beginning with our homes.

Her book, ‘The Not So Big House,’ embraces the idea that less is more and that luxury does not have to mean excess. So what does this have to do with green and energy efficient homes? How can a smaller home work for you?

A small, modest home means less heat, less air-conditioning, and less lighting. A home with fewer square feet is more efficient because a smaller amount of energy is needed to run the A/C, provide hot water, and perform other energy consuming activities.

So what can we do to make the most of the space we have?

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Your yard has always been an important part of your home, whether cooking on the grill in the summer or enjoying a fall fire. Making these spaces an extension of your home has become popular and almost expected in today’s market. But how can our outdoor living space become part of our green home?

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Green homes can look modern and sleek, but what if you want a more traditional looking home? Like a craftsmen or a cape. Holistic Homes is building four green and energy efficient craftsman style homes in Woodstown, New Jersey that are big on style and luxury and small on cost and energy.

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