Eco Friendly Ideas | Environmentally Friendly

Building An Eco Friendly Home

Building an eco friendly home | Becoming an eco friendly home

Eco-friendly building construction techniques can not only help to create a better outdoor environment they also help us to build a healthier indoor environment. It is known that conventional building materials and methods have in the past and present been linked to a wide range of health problems. Typically, chemical pollutants from solvents, paint, plastics and certain man made timbers, along with biological pollutants can create dust mites and moulds known to cause traumatoic side effects such as asthma, headaches, depression, palpitations, eczema and fatigue syndrome. Eco friendly buildings (painted with eco friendly paint) can help to eliminate these problems through the use of good design of ventilations systems, making walls more breathable and the the use of natural, non-toxic products and materials.

Sustainable Home Building

By Mark Nash

Sustainable design is the buzzword today along with green building. There is a difference between the two. While green building means resource efficient and environmentally conscious, sustainable design is based on three areas; energy conservation, indoor air quality, and resource conservation. Viewed as new-age in construction circles, sustainable design looks at homes holistically, and not just a bunch of unrelated systems thrown together. Natural forms of energy, such as wind, solar, and geo-thermal if available on-site are maximized.

A new rating system for sustainable building has been rolled out. LEED or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Homes was begun in mid-2005 by the U.S. Green Building Council on a trial basis in 12 locations across the country. It is a rating system like Energy Star Homes program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy. When the pilot program is completed in 2007 a updated rating system will be issued.

Homeowners can expect sustainable homes to be at the minimum more energy efficient and offer occupants better air quality. Home building product manufactures are making many more low impact, but high performance products. To learn more about sustainable home building contact National Association of Home Builders and the Sustainable Buildings Industry Council.

Mark Nash is the author of "Fundamentals of Marketing for the Real Estate Professional", "Starting & Succeeding in Real Estate", "Reaching Out: The Financial Power of Niche Marketing", and "1001 Tips for Buying and Selling a Home". Mark is a contributing writer for: Realtor (R) Magazine Online, Broker Agent News, Real Estate Executive Magazine, Principal Broker, and Realty Times. His tried and true real estate tips has been featured on Business Week, CBS The Early Show, CNN, HGTVpro.com, The New York Times, and USA Today. Purchase his books at http://www.1001RealEstateTips.com .

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