Well, I finally have a few minutes to recount some of the green features of this house. While I know that there are things I could have done differently to be even more environmentally friendly, I have tried to re-build this old house in a way that will bring it up to modern standards for efficiency, and to make it a sustainable, affordable house to live in. I guess the greenest thing I did was not demolishing it in the first place and filling up the landfill. As noted on Page 1 of Rebuilding The 11 Dollar House, I still did too much of that with some of the building materials left behind. Again, I'm not perfect. But in saving the house, I avoided all the environmental impact that goes with harvesting and shipping new lumber. The salvaging continues with the oak floors that I've taken up and saved with the hope of laying them down again. Likewise, outside, the clapboard cedar siding that remained on three sides of the house was kept, and I look forward to putting it up again shortly. Even the old fir timbers that were the beam and posts supporting the house were kept, and I plan to use them, either in this house in some fashion or other, or in another project. In terms of energy efficiency, one of the best ways to make a home energy efficient is just to insulate it really well in the first place. This house will have an R-value in most walls of R-35 or higher. While the attic spaces won't go much beyond the required R-40, the white metal roof covering the new attic addition will help to keep things cooler in the summer. As for the insulation itself, we went with Roxul™, a mineral wool based fiber insulation that is fire resistant, water repellant, and which diverts slag and other waste materials from the landfill. You can go to the Roxul™ website to find out more. Otherwise, the attic spaces are all well-ventilated, which will keep things from ice damming in the winter and overheating in the summer. Perhaps the most important area to insulate is the basement. I've read that around 50% of a home's heating costs result from energy lost through the foundation. With the Insulated Concrete Form foundation that we used, the basement will be much more snug, resulting in lower heating costs and a more comfortable living environment. As for the heating, the house is heated by a Navien™ high-efficiency tankless water heater that provide domestic water for the house and hot water for a loop to the high velocity fan coil unit. Rather than using natural gas in two places, the house will only be burning it in one place, and the Navien™ unit is the first on the market that can truly claim high efficiency, roughly 98.4%. To find out more about the tankless water heater, go to Navien's website.
All the windows are brand new, with wood frames and clad in aluminum. Wood has a better R-value than vinyl, and many aesthetic and environmental benefits that PVC windows just can't claim. They are all low-E argon filled, for comfort in both winter and summer. Also, in every window array, there is generally at least one venting window. In the warmer summer months, rather than spending money on running an air conditioning unit, the homeowner can simply open casement windows on all side and all floors to get cooling breezes moving through the house. For the flooring, aside from salvaging much of what's already in the house, true linoleum flooring will be added in the kitchen and the main floor entry ways. Linoleum, made of linseed oil , pigments, cork dust, and/or limestone dust over a jute or burlap backing, is considered environmentally friendly from its manufacturing to its health benefits in the home (no offgassing like vinyl flooring, no plasticizers, and hypoallergenic) to its eventually disposal, where it biodegrades readily. And greener still, we picked up roll ends that had been donated to Habitat for Humanity, so we're putting to use something that otherwise would have gone straight to the landfill. Low VOC paints and a really good air filter will further improve the indoor air quality of the house. We also plan on using low flow toilets , Energy Star™ rated appliances wherever these are available (refrigerator, dishwasher, and clothes washer), and even an ethanol fireplace. I've tried it out, and it really works. You can go check out the details at the InFlame™ website. Finally, the house's location in Edmonton in itself is an environmentally friendly choice. Centrally located and close to public transit, it should mean less filling up at the gas station, and the potential to walk , ride a bike, or catch the bus. It also means better use of the city's infrastructure than house's built in sprawling areas surrounding the city. If I think of anything else, I'll be sure to add it. But at least this is a good place to start. |
