Don't hold your breath

When I tell folks we are building an eco-friendly green home, I usually get asked what kind of green products, technologies or systems I'm going to be using.  Often people are asking about something they have knowledge of or have at least heard about.  Sometimes a particularly strident person will tell me we have to use a product or technology they are advocating.

This behavior becomes especially intense in reference to our project because we are trying to achieve a very high level of green.  We would like to have as close to a zero energy impact home as possible.  The reality is that we will be making all kinds of choices in the next few months and they won't always be what one might think.  Remember, we are trying to do what is possible.  That means compromises will have to be made. Sometimes we achieve a bright, green result, sometimes more of a dusty avocado colored result.  For instance this happens when we find out that something like bamboo flooring, which many people favor as a green product, is shipped thousands of miles, not made by local craftsmen and may cause poor nations to squander other resources just to feed our appetite for this green product.  You can see how decisions will be difficult.

Carbon dioxide production is a big part of the concern when trying to reduce one's environmental impact.  It is a strong contributor to the greenhouse effect that results in global warming.  Much of this carbon dioxide is released in the production of the energy our homes use.  So we feel that the biggest contribution we will be making is focused on our energy use.  That's why we're insulating well, using super efficient windows, using radiant floor heating, installing a geothermal heating and cooling system; and powering the whole house with solar photovoltaic panels.

Those are the major ways in which we will have the greatest success in lowering our environmental impact.  We also hope to do many of the things folks ask us about or recommend to us, but many times there are conflicts or monetary issues that make decisions difficult.  If we can hold strong to our low energy use goal, we should be making the biggest contribution to a healthy planet that we can.  After all, we can't reduce our carbon output to absolute zero since we breathe out significant amounts with every breath.

Stay tuned over the next few weeks for explanations of the systems and products we're thinking of using.

We're trying our best to be good Earth citizens, but don't hold your breath.

Check out this website that has many forums for discussing various green products.  It's a huge website, but nicely organized into categories.    http://www.greenbuildingtalk.com