Going green for good
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People are beginning to understand that environmentally friendly homes are also more comfortable and user-friendly. There's a growing awareness that we all need to do what we can to reduce our impact on the environment by reducing energy consumption and preserving non-renewable resources. However, it is human nature to settle for the staus-quo and to prioritise comfort and cost efficiency over more long term benefits. When it comes to building environmentally friendly homes, there are two ways forward. One is to legislate for change. The other is to educate people to understand that environmentally friendly homes are actually more comfortable homes to live in. Across the Tasman, the Victorian Government has taken a legislative approach, introducing a new 5 star energy rating system for residential housing. All new homes built in Victoria must achieve a 5 star rating. The system is flexible, meaning that the 5 stars can be achieved using a combination of energy efficient design features. Within five years, 5 star homes will be saving more than 200,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases. That's the equivalent of taking 45,000 cars off the road, or planting 750,000 trees. The big bonus for the home owner is that the 5 Star homes offer big energy savings, being up to 5 degrees warmer in winter and 10 degrees cooler in summer. That's the sort of benefit that Sydney-based Architect, Tone Wheeler believes will motivate people everywhere to create ‘green' homes whether its legislated for or not. “If you can show people how much more comfortable ‘green' houses are to live in because of factors like the type and amount of heating they produce, I believe that environmental architecture will become more popular,” says Wheeler. Earth: Choose building materials that are as ‘environmentally friendly' as possible. “I always try to use plantation-grown timbers and building materials that are recyclable in the projects I work on,” says Wheeler. James Hardie products are made from cellulose fibre from plantation-grown Radiata Pine trees. They also have a low embodied energy rating – a rating that's used to describe how much energy is required to make a particular product, from the mining of raw materials right through to the manufacturing process. Air: Building a home to have superior air quality is also an important component of green design. To do this, site and window placement that encourages a breeze to flow throughout the house is crucial, but it's also important to make smart material choices. “Choose paints that are low in Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). The less chemical omissions you have from the materials you build with, the better the internal air quality will be.” Fire: This component describes how much and what sort of energy a home has. Green homes are built around the principles of passive solar energy – placing the house on the site so that it maximises solar energy during the winter, and protects it from harsh rays during the summer. Crucial factors include choosing materials indoors and out that provide radiant heat, installing ceiling fans to circulate air and incorporating structural elements like eaves and soffits to provide protection from the sun's rays (see below for details of James Hardie soffits products) Water: Water is becoming an increasingly precious commodity. In response to that, good green design incorporates ways to utilise water – both storm and waste – efficiently. “On average, more rain falls on a typical house and block of land than the household could use per annum,” says Tone. “If you could collect that water and recycle it for things like irrigation and flushing the toilet, it would decrease the demand being placed on our water supply.” Ideas include installing individual water tanks, incorporating a roof design that collects as much rain water as possible, and recycling systems that allow waste water to be utilised again. Wide Eaves: Homes designed with wide eaves provide increased weather shelter which means that doors and windows can be left open whatever the weather - and because painted surfaces are protected, maintenance is reduced. James Hardie has a number of eaves and soffits products to choose from:
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