As a general contractor, I'm often asked what the heck is 'Green Construction?'. Simply put green construction is the process of construction that promotes energy efficiency and environmentally friendly building materials. This means minimizing the environmental impact of construction in all phases of the 'green construction project'. To do so requires general contractors to use environmentally friendly products such as recycled materials which help reduce waste. You may be wearing right now a good example of what could one day help someones green construction project--unless you have some 'fancy solar paneled hat' I'm guessing you didn't realize the jeans your wearing can be make a great insulator for your home. The folks at Blue Jeans go Green, a company that specializes in turning everyday products into materials for green construction, estimate over 600 tons of denim have been diverted from landfills to help insulate thousands of homes. Many of these homes, including those being built by Habitat for Humanity ( a great cause by the way), convert denim into UltraTouch (TM) Denim insulation that is distributed to communities in need across the country to be used as home insulation.
There are many other factors involved in Green Energy Building. Some of these will be our own renewable energies as the following:
1: S.I.P. (Structurally Integrated Panel) Construction {These are prefabricated wall sections already insulated with a styro-foam based filler}
2: Solar energy (panel systems collecting solar light and transforming into electric to power your home)
3: Geothermal energy ( a series of piping buried underground that will collect the earths natural 60 degrees temperature and fan forced into your home creating a lower heating and cooling cost)
4: Hydro-electric power ( a system that will utilize a near by running water source to generate electricity via turbine technology)
5: Wind Energy ( simple wind mills that will use natural air currents to generate power and preserve into a battery type system that will then be converted to the normal voltage your home needs to operate)
6: Off the Grid construction using Adobe built walls for construction (a mixture of clay mud, grass, and roots to build walls).
These are all new Green Energy Construction methods that may help you in determining your renewable energy sources. Please follow our blog as we will describe all of these in great detail to help you better understand Green Energy Building.
Klein Developments in St. Louis, Missouri can help you with your next green building project. Give us a call at 314-322-7896 and let us help you make your next construction project green.
photo credit: Wayne National Forest via photopin cc
