Using green building materials is a great way to lower your environmental impact. Here are 3 energy-efficient building materials that we recommend for every home project. Source: Pixabay

If you’re concerned about the impact you’ll have on the environment when building your home, then you should strongly consider using energy-efficient building materials. The following are three energy-efficient building materials that we highly recommend for every home project:

1. Recycled steel – Wood is not a very environmentally-friendly option, and a house that’s 2,000 square feet large would require between 40 and 50 trees to build. Instead, use customized recycled steel beams and panels, which also happen to be incredibly durable and resistant to high winds.
2. Cool roofing – Cool roofing materials tend to be a little more expensive, but they help reflect heat during the summers, helping to keep your home cool and efficient. This helps cut down on that expensive electricity bill.
3. Insulating concrete forms – These are basically concrete walls that are cast in place and that are inserted between two layers of insulation. Insulated concrete forms can end up cut down your energy usage by 20 percent.

These are just a few of the green home building materials that we recommend you use for your home building project. For all of your home building needs, be sure to contact us at Trilogy Builds today.

When designing a new home you should strive to create a passive house. A passive house is basically a home that is incredibly energy efficient, thereby helping you to reduce your environmental footprint as well as save up to 90 percent of your space heating costs.

Passive homes are houses that are insulated extremely well and practically air-tight. They are primarily heated through passive solar gain in addition to internal gains from electrical equipment and people, thereby helping to minimize the loss of energy. Whatever additional heat demand exists is provided through a very small source.

The layout of the home, such as the window orientation and the shading of the building, also helps to limit the home’s cooling load. Not to mention that passive homes also contain energy recovery ventilators to provide a balanced and constant fresh air supply. Other features of a passive home include triple-glazed high performance windows and high quality insulation.

To save as much energy as possible and to make sure your home is as efficient as possible, you should consider designing your home with a passive home system in mind. Be sure to contact us at Trilogy Builds for additional information and advice.

If you’re planning a green home design, then odds are you have some idea about a few of the green home building materials that you can use. However, there are a few surprising materials out there that we can incorporate  for a green home design. Here are a few of those materials:

• Tires and other trash – Believe it or not, you can use tires, cans, old appliance parts, and more to build your interior walls as well as your roof.
• Straw bales – Straw bales are a fantastic option for insulating your home, whether you’re planning a standard wood-framed house or a steel-framed one. When stacked above one another, they’re even strong enough to be load-bearing.
• Shipping containers – You won’t believe how many shipping containers are being used everyday around the world. There are plenty of empty ones that just sit around. And guess what? They are a fantastic building material as they are fireproof, waterproof, durable and insulated!

These are just a few of the materials that you may not have realized can be used for your green home project. Find out more by contacting us at Trilogy Builds today.

Making sure that you limit your environmental footprint as much as possible is an important consideration to make when designing a new home. There are a lot of green building techniques that you can implement in order to achieve this. One that we highly recommend that you look into is superinsulation.

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The main idea behind superinsulation is to reduce heat loss and heat gain by creating a much more airtight building design than what is normal while also using much higher levels of insulation. Homes that make use of superinsulation tend to incorporate details that ensure the continuity of insulation where the walls meet the foundations, roofs, and other walls. Although the insulation levels are usually quite high, the house has to be airtight, especially around the windows and doors, in order for the insulation to be as effective as possible. To complement a superinsulation system, a very small conventional heating system is often used in addition to a heat recovery ventilation system, which helps to provide fresh air to the home.

Superinsulation is definitely something that you should consider when designing your home. For additional information and advice, be sure to contact us at Trilogy Builds today.

Are you looking for some ideas for your interior design? If you are, consider a natural interior. Using natural elements in your home’s design is a great way to create a beautiful and relaxing atmosphere and can be done no matter what type of interior design you have. The following are some tips for designing a natural interior:

• Flooring – Wood floors provide a warmth that other materials just don’t have. However, if you want more eco-friendly options, then consider cork, bamboo, or reclaimed wood, all of which provide that same warmth.
• Furniture – Be sure to keep an eye out for furniture pieces that make use of natural materials and fibers as well as textiles with more subtle and organic prints. Be sure to look for wood furniture pieces as well, such as end tables, trunks, and more.
• Area rugs – Area rugs are a great way to provide a little bit of warmth underfoot as well as tie the design of a room together. Look for area rugs that have botanical designs on them.

These are some ideas that you can use to create a more natural interior. For home building advice, contact us at Trilogy Builds today.

Are you planning on remodeling your home soon? If you are, then you should keep the environment in mind as you do so. The following are a few green remodeling tips to implement into your home renovation in order to reduce your environmental footprint as much as possible:

• Replace windows – Upgrade your old windows with more energy efficient models to reduce the amount of air that leaks in and out of your home. In fact, you can use different glass panes for different parts of the home in order to get as much sunlight into your home as possible.
• Upgrade appliances – While upgrading appliances such as your water heater or furnace may seem like unnecessary costs initially – you’ll end up saving on utility bills due to their added efficiency, making the initial costs worthwhile.
• Use green products and materials – Make sure your remodeler uses green products, whether they are recycled materials or new, more energy efficient materials.

Use these green remodeling tips to ensure your home is environmentally-friendly. If you are in need of additional home remodeling advice, be sure to contact us at Trilogy Builds today.

Technology has come a long way, as evidenced by new 3D modeling technology that only top-of-the-line home design firms such as Trilogy Builds use. The following are a few ways in which 3D modeling technology can benefit you:

Source: Trilogy Builds

• Avoid mistakes – 3D modeling allows us to test the stress factors and tolerances of the building’s design before we begin to build, thereby helping to avoid any mistakes that could prove to be costly.
• Get a better view – It’s difficult to look at the 2D plan of a home design and see how everything fits together. This is not so with a 3D model, which allows you to see how the rooms compare in size and how the space fits together.
• Save time – One of the problems of 2D CAD is that time and energy is spent on ensuring that the plan, elevation, and section of the design all agree. This information can be quickly obtained from a 3D model, thereby saving time and energy.
• Added precision – The use of 3D modeling allows us to analyze and measure everything individually for more precision.

For more information about our design process,  contact us at Trilogy Builds today.

Could your home use a little bit of extra space? If so, why not build an addition to your home? If this seems like the right solution, then make sure that it’s a green home addition by working with us at Trilogy Builds. The following are a few ways in which we will create a green home addition:

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• Green demolition – In order to build an addition we’ll most likely have to tear down a few things. Every addition tends to have some construction waste. We will make sure that the old materials we tear down are either reused or recycled.
• Green windows – When building an addition, we will install double-paned low-energy windows that are more energy efficient and therefore more environmentally-friendly.
• Green plumbing – Most additions require new plumbing. We will insulate your pipes to help reduce the loss of heat. We can also install more water-efficient fixtures, such as low-flush toilets and reduced-flow faucets.
• Green insulation – We will make sure the addition is properly insulated so that you won’t lose warm or cool air and keep outside air from leaking in.

For more information about our green home additions, contact us at Trilogy Builds.

One of the things that you should consider when investing in a green building project is making your new home a zero-energy home. A zero-energy home is a sustainable home that produces as much energy as it consumes on an annual basis. The following are a few tips for building a zero-energy home:

Source: Trilogy Builds

One of the most important elements of designing a zero-energy home is ensuring that the amount of energy that you need in order to both heat and cool the house is reduced. This is done by making sure the entire home has top-notch insulation to keep air from leaking out or in.

Another element to help reduce energy leaks is choosing the right windows. High-quality, energy-efficient windows will go a long way in making your home more energy efficient. You should also consider the HVAC system you use. Proper sizing software is needed for well-insulated homes so that over-sized equipment isn’t used, which is a waste of energy.

These are just a few elements that will help to create a zero-energy home. For additional information on green building, be sure to contact us at Trilogy Builds today.

The green movement is no longer just a trend. More and more homeowners are concerning themselves with the design of green buildings in order to both save money and help reduce the negative impact they are having on the environment. Because of this, green building is quickly growing to the point where it will soon be the standard. The following are some green design features making an impact:

• 100 percent renewable – There are over 700 organizations that are now relying exclusively on renewable energy in order to cover their electricity use in the country. Not only are they setting an example for businesses around the world, they are creating a reputation as companies that care about more than just the bottom line.

• Advanced solar electric systems – Solar electric systems are becoming more complex. Before, most solar electric systems could only produce power during the daytime. Now, there are systems that can provide six hours of power even after the sun has gone down by storing solar power.

Green building design is becoming commonplace for both homes and businesses as people are becoming more aware of their impact on the environment. For more information about green building design, contact us at Trilogy Builds today.