Green Building Design – Environmentally Sensitive Construction

The National Association of Home Builders celebrated 30 years of advances in resource-efficient, environmentally sensitive residential construction, commonly referred as green building.

Green building is arguably the most exciting and significant development in homebuilding in the past three decades, said Bobby Rayburn, president of NAHB, and a home and apartment builder and developer from Jackson, Miss. Through the efforts of environmentally conscious builders, home buyers can enjoy the benefits of reduced home maintenance costs, improved environmental quality and increased home value.

More than 32,000 green homes have been built since 1990. And thanks to cutting-edge green building practices available for new and remodeled homes, houses built today are twice as energy-efficient as they were 30 years ago. But, the significantly improved energy-efficiency is due to a number of factors, including:

* Windows that now have low-E glass and insulating glass to keep homes more comfortable and energy efficient. Between 1978 and 1999, use of low-E coated glass grew by almost 30 percent and use of insulated glass increased to nearly 87 percent from 68 percent.

* Increased insulation levels in walls and attics make the home more resistant to energy loss, lowering energy bills, reducing pollution related to energy production and saving precious resources.

* Water-saving appliances and plumbing fixtures that reduce the amount of water used in homes and require less energy to heat water. Dishwashers manufactured in 1997 use 40 percent less energy than 1972 models. Toilets installed in 1999 use only 1.6 gallons of water per flush compared to 4 gallons per flush in the 1970s, and washing machine energy use declined by 45 percent since the 1970s.

Specialized, niche home builders began constructing resource-efficient, environmentally sensitive homes in the early 1970s, said Rayburn. Today, green building is a quiet revolution that is vital to our nation's environmental and economic interests.

luxury home plans

About The Author:

Gregory Lambert is a successful author and regular contributor to http://www.home-n-house-plans.com. The best place to find new home plans, home designs & houseplans is on the Internet.