Molding
It’s Not Easy Being Green?
The best way for one to start the green revolution in their very own home is to start with the architectural aspects and the staples of the home design. Some of the options of “greening” your home are out of reach for most people, but there is something that everyone can do to move closer to zero impact– and of course, a less of an impact on your wallet over time!
One of the things that can make a big difference is the window size and placement. Natural light can easily reduce electric costs, but they do have to be appropriately sized and located. Southern exposure tends to get more sun, eastern exposure has the early and cool sun, while the western exposure has the later hot sun. One thing to always remember is that investing in good quality windows for the home saves a lot of money in the long run.
The other thing to consider is how efficient the Heating and Cooling system is. You do not have to get too fancy with it, but it definitely pays off to have it checked out. In New England especially– it can save you more money than you expected!
You can easily collect rain water and store it for different uses around the home– one being watering the lawn! it is a great thing to do since now it is possible to do so without it being tacked onto your water bill! If you add a water purifier, you can actually use this water for anything from showering to cooking.
Solar water heaters and photovoltaics are quite an investment. It is a way to use the sun to either only heat the water or to produce your whole home’s electricity. It is a way to truly be off the grid– unless you make extra electricity to feed back into the grid and be compensated for it.
When remodeling, look for materials that do not contain harmful chemicals– be it actual details or the glue that holds it all together! Look for CFC/ HCFC free moldings and VOC free glues on the web-site! These chemicals have been proven to harm not only the overall state of the planet, but also your health– it is not something that you would want to live in from day to day.
These chemicals are one of the causes of what McDonough (Author of Cradle to Cradle) “sick interior syndrome”. In this syndrome, we (sometimes due to seeking our convenience and sometimes pure ignorance) surround ourselves with harmful chemicals and they affect us in more ways than we realize. They can change our mental health as well as physical.
The best part about actively making your home green is that you can take all or some of the ideas to whatever level you can and still make an impact!
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The best part of all of those facts that it is not totally new technology so for all the pricey new things that are available– there are less pricey and still efficient things around. Everyone who reads this has to keep that in mind as to not get intimidated by those things.
- Linda, July 8th, 2010 at 4:44 pm
Wow,
I am so happy that you that you mentioned McDonough because i have believed that his ideas have been incredibly revolutionary. He gave a really impressive TED talk that you can see on the TED website. Aside from using green roofs on all of his constructions, he makes “being green” feasible for anyone. He is an inspiration in making Ford Factory a zero impact company and creating whole zero impact communities in China. I think that also it is great for people who are not looking for huge projects and such. It got a lot of my people into composting, getting rid of appliances that are not that important as well as switching to bikes and making sure that everything that is not being used is off. he is a great person to look into for anyone who is curious in any capacity.
- Bill, July 9th, 2010 at 11:26 am
The sick interior syndrome was something that I have not considered actually. It makes a lot of sense. I mean, I already know that mold and dust and overall dirty environments will make people sick– but– I never thought of things like cracks in tiles would make actually sick… but i guess whether or not people notice, it could still affect them.
- Colleen, July 9th, 2010 at 1:09 pm
I have never thought about the toxicity of glues. I mean, I would make sure that none of the glues would actually touch my skin or anything like that– but that should probably be telling about the chemical living in my home.
- Cassie, July 9th, 2010 at 2:14 pm
This was a very informative article! I never really thought about making small and subtle changes in my home to protect the quality of life and to keep my heating and cooling costs low. I’ve been working on getting my home to be a green home, and I am so glad I have come across this website.
- Lori, September 14th, 2010 at 2:58 pm
Crown moldings and other architectural products can add a lot to your homes value. To add even more – go green. Crown moldings from Invitinghome.com are environmentally friendly and since they won’t admit formaldyhyde gasses they are safe for your home. So you will be safer – and environmentally frinedly at the same time.
- Albert, September 24th, 2010 at 4:39 pm
This article is so true! No reason not to go green. I mean in the grand scheme of things, the US is not even close to being as enviromentally friendly as say Finland, Iceland, or Australia. The US is not even in the top 20 countries in the world. This must change–I urge everyone to use environmentally friendly crown moldings, baseboard moldings, and ceiling medallions. As a country, we need to be more proactive– but the problem is not a lot of people are jumping on the band wagon. COME ON PEOPLE!
- Mariska, September 29th, 2010 at 3:48 pm
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- Tweets that mention It’s Not Easy Being Green? -- Topsy.com, September 30th, 2010 at 4:49 pm
I love green design. It is very helpful to our environment!
- Amber, October 5th, 2010 at 3:07 pm
Just make sure you use the water you might store right away! Standing water is a great place for misquitos to breed! Other than that, I think this article is spot on!
- Carly, October 19th, 2010 at 12:20 pm
I think the title says it all. It is not easy going green. However if everyone makes an effort, then maybe we can make this earth a better place. We need to protect our environment so that our children and our grandchildren and their children will be able to enjoy and inhabit this wonderful place known as Earth.
- David, December 16th, 2010 at 12:14 pm
The title of this page is what intrigued me. Who can resist a classic sung by Kermit the Frog? But in all seriousness, this was a great read. I’ve been aware of green design and sustainable design for a long time now and it seems like everyone else is getting on the “green train” too. Which is great. Our society as a whole is destroying our environment. Every little bit helps. Seriously.
- Jack, December 17th, 2010 at 4:07 pm
I found this blog on stumbleupon.com. (MY new favorite site!) and I couldn’t help but get enthralled in this website. Absolutely stunning items and most of them are green friendly! What with the crazy weather lately (my thoughts are with all of you effected by the recent tornado outbreak!) it is easy to see that global warmning is real. I think more companies should follow the footsteps of this company.
- Georgia, June 3rd, 2011 at 11:17 am
It’s true. What’s great is that more and more companies are going green. It seems that it’s easier and easier to help the economy. Now people just need to take notice and make good decisions when purchasing non-environmentally friendly items. … it’s really a shame that people still don’t believe in global warming.. We all fear, that it’s here, let’s get in gear, and stop shedding tears.
- Margarita, October 12th, 2011 at 2:49 pm