My Green Factoidz

I have created this article to share my best Green Factoidz with you. This is my favorite Green articles as of July 2009 that I have written. I hope you enjoy these Green articles and vote them up if you would like.

Going Green with Tankless Water Heaters

So has all the new water heaters on the market have you confused on which one is the best? Which one is the greenest and most efficient? Well don’t feel alone, there happens to be a lot of options today but the proper application is what needs to be looked at.

http://factoidz.com/going-green-with-tankless-water-heaters/

Building Your Green Home: Does Size Really Matter?

Yes, the size of your home does make a difference when building a green home or a green project and want to be certified. There are many factors play into the square footage and design of your home. Also with the down turn in the economy I think smaller homes will be the new norm.

http://factoidz.com/building-your-green-home-does-size-really-matter/

How "Green Products" can be Misleading

The Going Green phase in home construction has many people confused about what Green really means. Many are struggling to find the balance between renewable, sustainable, recyclable, LEED, NAHB Green Program, Energy Star, energy efficient, net zero, carbon foot print, certified products, low VOC, air quality and a myriad of other green words.

http://factoidz.com/how-green-products-can-be-misleading/

Which grocery bag is really green?

You go to the store several times a week and you are usually asked “paper or plastic” or you may even be the devout green, environmentally conscious person that brings your own, but what is the greenest grocery bag solution? Well depending on who is talking they all are green, but let’s look a little deeper and just see who is the greenest of them all.

http://factoidz.com/which-grocery-bag-is-really-green/

Green Building Should Incorporate Energy Efficiency

Many people don’t totally understand the green building and the purpose it has. The phrase green building misses some of the key points that every home owner should be thinking of. When the word green is used most think of saving trees or natural resources. This is correct but the point many times missed in the saving natural resources.

http://factoidz.com/green-building-should-incorporate-energy-efficiency/

Going Green with Reclaimed Wood

One product that is great for green building and is not new by any means is Reclaimed Wood. Many reclaimed products are showing up in some very prominent new green projects. Reclaimed wood is a form of recycling but with amazing beauty.

http://factoidz.com/going-green-with-reclaimed-wood/

Prefab Homes: the Next Green Building Idea

A movement is taking place in an old methodology. Prefab or modular homes seem to be taking a very popular spot light in the green arena. This is not the old modular homes that most people think of, where the home is a square box split in half and resemble a double wide trailer home. These new breed of modular homes are quite stylish and green friendly.

http://factoidz.com/prefab-homes-the-next-green-building-idea/

What is the difference between "sustainable" and "green?"

“What is the difference in Sustainable and Green?” Too many get caught up in trying to decipher the difference. The main thing to remember is that we should all try and be less wasteful and more conscious of how the products we use affect our environment.

http://factoidz.com/the-difference-in-sustainable-and-green/

Green choices for your hardwood flooring: understanding cork, bamboo, and reclaimed wood

Thinking of building a new home or remodeling? Wanting to find flooring products for your project? The choices are endless and flooring happens to be a product many people decide to go green with. Cork and Bamboo flooring is a great option in the renewable group.

http://factoidz.com/green-choices-for-your-hardwood-flooring-understanding-cork-bamboo-and-reclaimed-wood/

Saving water: You don't have to "go green" to take part in saving water

The whole green focus was established to help conserve our natural resources, by reducing the use or waste of any natural resource. One natural resource that the whole world needs to help reducing, even if going green is not a consideration, is our water supply.

http://factoidz.com/we-dont-have-to-be-green-to-save-water/

Green Washing: what it is and how to watch for it

Green Building is much more than just following a checklist. Green Building or sustainable building is composed of certain elements like design, energy savings, water savings, health and managing resources used in the home.

http://factoidz.com/what-is-green-washing-and-how-to-watch-for-it/

I hope you enjoyed these articles. I write a blog called Green Building Ideas. I get my material from working in the home construction industry and my learning on how to incorporate Green into our every day lives. I am a Certified Green Professional (NAHB Green Building Program) and help builders with building green.

Green Building Ideas

renewable, recyclable and sustainable,

When the subject of lumber is renewable, recyclable and sustainable come up in conversations surrounding green products many have differing opinions. For decades the lumber industry has been bashed for bad practices in managing our environment. Yes in the past there have been some bad practices but in the United States our forests are managed in ways they many don’t even understand. When some talk about the lumber industry they portray companies that are eliminating the forests. That is just not the case.
Let’s look at the nature life cycle of a forest if humans never stepped foot inside. Trees grow and drop seeds and more trees grow. The forest continues overtime to thicken and the large trees kill out the smaller trees creating dead down fall. Over years some of this down fall decays and returns to the earth. This process continues to create overgrown forests and more dry trees. Fire is eventually the remedy that cleanses the forest and starts the process all over. Nature causes such as beetles can kill off a complete forest and again fire is the remedy to restore the forest.
A well managed forest can be looked at similar the life cycle just described, cleaning out the old to allow for the smaller new trees to flourish. Creating a continuing life cycle of usable products that can be recycled that is not harmful or toxic in any way.
Many claim that steel studs are greener than wood studs. If the life cycle of a steel stud versus the life cycle of a wood stud is compared, lumber is far greener than steel. It takes more energy to create a steel stud and the renewable factors of wood are far better. Yes steel can be recycled but with the use of far more energy. Ore comes from the ground and is not renewable like growing a tree.
Not all lumber companies manage the forests like they should. The same as all car companies don’t produce fuel efficient cars. So finding a certified green dealer is important if you want to make sure your wood products are considered green. The two leading wood certification programs in the US are FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) and SFI (Sustainable Forestry Initiative). USGBC only recognizes FSC while NAHB National Green Building Standards recognizes both.
So from this is wood “Green and Sustainable”? You decide.

Green Building Ideas