If you’ve decided to build a new home, then one of the things you should consider is the environment around you. To reduce your environmental footprint, think about incorporating some green building ideas, such as active daylighting, into your home design.

Source: Wikipedia.com

Active daylighting occurs when a mechanical device collects sunlight in order to increase the efficiency of your home’s light collection. Active daylighting systems are different than passive daylighting systems in that they actively track the sun’s light instead of remaining stationary.

There are two types of active daylighting systems: closed loop and open loop. Closed loop systems use sensors that are directed at the sun. The sensors will pick up on when the sun begins to move whenever they are hit by shade, thereby allowing them to track with the sun. Open looped systems use sensors, but not to track the sun’s movement. Instead, the use a motorized system that is pre-programmed to follow the sun’s path.

Make your home more efficient by implementing an active daylighting system, whether it’s a closed loop system or an open loop system. Find out how you can implement green building techniques into your home design by contacting Trilogy Partners 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.

If you are planning on building a home or remodeling extensively, then you should strongly consider green building in order to reduce the negative impact that you have on the environment. The following are a few more reasons why you should build green:

Source: Shutterstock.com

Typical building projects throughout the country account for 39 percent of all energy use, 12 percent of all water consumption, 38 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions, and 68 percent of all electricity consumption. As you see, building projects use a huge amount of resources – green building will greatly reduce the consumption of these resources.

As such, green building will help to improve the quality of our air and water, reduce the stream of waste, conserve and restore our natural resources, and help to protect and enhance our ecosystems and biodiversity. Not to mention the reduced operating costs, better life-cycle performance, and improved occupant productivity that green building will result in as well.

Building or remodeling homes tends to result in a huge waste of resources. To reduce the waste of valuable resources and take advantages of the many benefits, consider green building. For more information, 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.

If you are in the process of designing a home, then you should consider incorporating green building features. Not only will green building features provide you with a way to reduce your environmental footprint, you’ll be saving money on your energy bills. The following are some green building trends you should be aware of:

• Zero-net energy – Green home building has already hit the mainstream. Now, many owners and developers are going a step further by attempting to accomplish zero net energy on an annual basis.
• More competition against LEED – LEED certification is somewhat complex and can be costly, which has led to direct competition from other rating systems, such as Green Building Initiative’s Green Globes rating system.
• Use of solar power will grow – The use of solar power will grow in popularity, which will lead to more third-party financing offerings to take advantage of.

These are just a few of the green building trends to be aware of. It seems as though green building is the future of home building, which means you should plan for a green building design now. For more information about green building, be sure to contact us at Trilogy Builds today.

Trilogy Partners possesses both the skill and the experience needed to build you your dream home. However, having a home built is a significant commitment of resources, which is why we recommend green home building practices. Not only is it good for the environment, it’s also good for your wallet.

Consider these financial benefits of living in a green home:

• Green homes are built to be energy-efficient, meaning that they can either be heated or cooled using the least amount of energy possible while still maintaining a comfortable living space. Although the savings may not seem impressive to homeowners in the short run, they can build up to big sums over time.

• Similarly, green homes show the same efficiency when it comes to the usage of water both indoors and outdoors. This results in similar savings when it comes to water bills.

• Green homes are predicted to become more and more popular over time. At the moment, 60 percent of consumers show interest in green home amenities, which has translated to a 9 percent increase in value for homes with some kind of green certification in places like California.

Please contact us to speak about other green home benefits.

Certified Green homes sell for more

Portland-area homes with green credentials command prices an average 30 percent higher than their non-certified counterparts, even while the overall market share of certified green homes in the region took a slight dip, according to new data.

Earth Advantage Institute, a nonprofit green building organization, announced Wednesday the results of its annual certified home analysis for the Portland metro region for the year May 1, 2010 through April 30, 2011 based on Portland Regional Multiple Listing Service data.

The report found that better sales prices were nabbed by both new homes and existing homes with certification of sustainability measures such as energy efficiency and green building materials. The certifications included in the report were either from Earth Advantage, the federal governments Energy Star program and LEED home designations from the U.S. Green Building Council.

In Multnomah County, existing homes with green certification received a whopping premium of 61 percent over the average price of non-certified homes. In Clackamas County, green-certified new homes fetched an average price premium of 23 percent.

“People are willing to pay more for green-certified homes,” said Dakota Gale, sustainable finance program manager, Earth Advantage Institute.

Gale added that the process of certification for new homes is relatively simple. “It’s pretty low-hanging fruit,” he said. “We hold a builders hand all the way through the process.”

Oddly, new homes in Clark County, Wash., with green certification sold for 14 percent less than their non-certified counterparts, the only such anomaly in the analysis.

The overall share of the housing market for green-certified homes dipped slightly in the metro area in the last year, dropping from 19.8 percent of the overall market to 18.2 percent. Green homes were steadily gaining market share each year in recent reports.

“Why? My guess it was a first-time home-buyer market last year and many starter homes aren’t built to green standards,” Gale said.

The report includes Multnomah, Clackamas, Columbia, Washington and Yamhill Counties in Oregon and Clark County in Washington. Full data is available from Earth Advantage.

Source: Sustainable Business Oregon

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