All that ‘green’ talk has had you suitably enthused to build a green home. So how do you go about it? Well, for starters there are some basic questions, which need to be asked when planning green home construction. These basic questions are … where do you want to build your dream ‘green’ home? Which green resources are indigenously on hand? To build your green house what are the suitable green designs? Who else is interested? Is there a suitable architect available? Can my authorities help me? The solutions to these concerns will clarify the way forward for building your green home.
The designs required for construction of green homes will depend largely on the geographical location you choose. A green house design for a house by the seaside would differ from that in the mountains or the deserts or in the plains.
The green resources available locally will come next in your checklist for your green home construction. Even though plentiful natural resources are readily available, you would have to make a judicious choice in utilizing them. A good example of this thoughtful exercise would be in choosing abundantly available wood rather than an unusual species which may be difficult to replace. Your green home construction could well aid national resource conservation by using products recycled from the city’s landfills.
The sort of green design needed for your house will again be a function of the area where you plan to build the house taking into consideration the general weather. For instance, flat topped cabins are more suitable for mountains and sloping traditional roofs with channels for wet weather. Straw bale and compressed earth blocks are more appropriate for ‘green’ home constructions in warmer regions.
A surefire success for green home construction … involve others. Because a ‘posse’ is always better than a ‘lonesome ranger’ as numbers add to safety. Safety in terms of finances as well as conservation of resources. For example, if a community decides to build green homes they can pool in resources such as common swimming pool, common solar panel grid, common water harvesting projects and common recycling plants.
A ‘green’ home construction is not a province of the uninitiated. You would require a suitably qualified architect who knows the subject. It would be his ken to advise you on the best tax benefits from the government, the best designs to incorporate and the best resources to use for best use of your money. That, in short, is the answer to construct your dream green home.