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Remodeling offers the opportunity to reduce your home's energy demands, minimize home maintenance costs and increase comfort efficiently and cost-effectively. With these tips PSNC Energy has compiled, you can minimize the ecological impacts and maximize the resource-efficiency of your remodeling project - inside and outside - while creating a healthier and more economical environment in which to live.
Go green from the start
Use green products
Choose resource-efficient materials
Choose low or nonpolluting materials and indoor finishes
Reduce waste
Build less
Remodel for energy efficiency
Improve air quality
Conserve water
Resources
Go green from the start
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Use green products
- Because green building is a fairly new concept, locating appropriate products and services can take some effort. Try the Western North Carolina Green Building Council's Green Building Directory or do research on the Internet.
- Look for products that are certified by such organizations as Green Seal, Scientific Certification Systems (SCS), or Green Guard (refer to Resources for more information), or that have been evaluated by such entities as Environmental Building News.
- Use recycled and recyclable products whenever possible.
- When shopping for green products, consider their "life cycle," not just upfront, costs. Life-cycle costs include the total cost of a product or system over its entire life, including design, development, procurement, operation, maintenance, and final disposal. Be aware that as markets for green products develop their prices may decrease.
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Choose resource-efficient materials
- Use sustainably produced materials to avoid unnecessary depletion of scarce resources. Use certified-sustainable wood from ecologically managed forests. Look for the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified label.
- Buy bio-based materials such as strawboard or wheatboard made from pesticide-free agricultural byproducts.
- Select recycled-content materials like recycled plastic decking and rapidly renewable materials like natural linoleum, bamboo and cork.
- Use salvaged wood and other materials, which are often less expensive and of a higher quality than their virgin counterparts.
- Purchase locally produced products, which require less energy to transport to local markets.
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Choose low-or nonpolluting materials and indoor finishes
- Select formaldehyde-free pressed-wood products, insulation, and similar items. Products containing phenol-formaldehyde (used in exterior-grade plywood) tend to offgas much less than those containing urea-formaldehyde.
- Offgassing is the process by which chemicals are released, through vaporization, from materials into the air. Some building products can offgas for days, while others may do so for years. Such fumes may be harmful to human health. In addition, the manufacturing process for many of these products can create pollution and health impacts for workers and communities.
- Choose low-VOC (Volatile organic compounds) paints, adhesives and finishes. VOCs can create health impacts when vaporized, which typically occurs at normal temperatures.
- When possible, avoid products that have to be glued down (glues typically emit VOCs). If adhesives are required, choose water-based ones. Avoid solvents.
- Avoid PVC-wallpaper, which can trap moisture that can lead to mold development.
- If carpeting is a necessity, consider carpet tiles, recycled content carpet, or natural fiber carpet (like wool). Carpeting can trap and "release" contaminants over time (bacteria, dust, dirt, and more). Carpet (and the carpet pad) can also offgas chemical pollutants. Purchase carpet that meets CRI Indoor Air Quality Standards (Carpet and Rug Institute "Green Label" program).
- Purchase insulation that is formaldehyde-free (batts), contains recycled content (such as cellulose) and that is certified as low-emitting, and/or free of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs).
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Reduce waste
- Consider "refreshing" in place of remodeling, for example, resurface existing cabinets rather than install new ones.
- Measure materials carefully to reduce unnecessary cutoff waste.
- Use precut or prefab materials (such as structural insulated panels, engineered wood I-joists, insulated concrete forms) to reduce construction-generated waste.
- Salvage and reuse items or donate usable materials to charities, salvage stores.
- Place excess insulation in framing cavities, not in waste receptacle.
- Use alternative framing techniques, such as advanced framing, which uses less lumber in its construction. Advanced framing spaces studs 24" on-center instead of the conventional 16", and bases a home’s design on 2-foot modules. It reduces wood waste and, by reducing thermal bridging (allowing heat loss (conduction) through, for example, the walls or roof of a structure), improves the insulating quality of a home.
- Ask your contractor for a waste management plan prior to job start. Require that it include recycle and reuse options for waste materials.
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Build less
- Minimize land consumption by building "up" instead of "out."
- Consider a "no build" strategy. Is additional space really needed? Or could current space be configured differently to meet one’s needs? Less construction equals less waste, pollution, and resource use.
- Create small, flexible, more intimate spaces. Incorporate built-in-storage and similar techniques to maximize space.
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Remodel for energy efficiency
- Purchase Energy Star® rated appliances, windows, lighting, heating, air conditioning systems, and similar products. Home appliances typically account for 21% or more of a home’s energy consumption. (Natural gas power appliances are among the most energy efficient, and natural gas is one of the cleanest burning fossil fuels available.)
- Install programmable thermostats. For large homes, consider adding multiple, "zoned" thermostats.
- When replacing home furnaces, make sure to size them correctly. Oversized systems can be inefficient and expensive to operate. Consider energy efficient natural gas models.
- If you're replacing windows, look for double (or triple) pane, low-e coated, Energy Star® labeled windows.
- Maximize natural light through the smart window placement, the use of solar light tubes or skylights and the use of clerestory windows.
- Use awnings or other types of overhangs on all but the north side of the house to minimize unwanted summer heat gain. Size them correctly to maximize winter heat gain.
- Think about window orientation. South-facing windows can help to improve heat gain in the winter. West-facing windows can result in excess summer heat build-up.
- Use shade trees on the east and west sides of a house to minimize summer heat gain. Evergreen trees, shrubs or similar plantings on the north and/or northwest sides can also buffer winter wind.
- Install renewable and energy-efficient systems, such as a tankless water heater, solar collectors, geothermal heating system or radiant in-floor heat.
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Improve air quality
- Well-insulated homes can trap pollutants and moisture, potentially leading to air quality problems, the development of mold, and sick building syndrome.
- Install a mechanical air-to-air ventilation heat exchange system.
- Improve natural ventilation through operable windows. High windows can help to exhaust hot air. Smart window placement can also help to increase cross-ventilation.
- Maximize open floor space to increase air circulation.
- Install exhaust fans in high moisture areas (bathrooms, kitchens).
- Eliminate or reduce exposure to remodeling dust and debris.
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Conserve water
- Install low-flow toilets, showerheads, and faucets, as well as other water-conserving appliances.
- Landscape with native plants, which can absorb water effectively and require less water to maintain.
- Use rain barrels to collect and reuse rainwater on site for irrigation.
- Use drip irrigation in place of conventional sprinkler systems.
- Install a tankless water heater.
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Resources
For more information to help you "remodel green," click here to access a variety of resources. (Please note that PSNC Energy is not responsible for the content of these resources; nor is PSNC Energy responsible for ensuring that all Web links are up to date.)
The preceding content is provided for informational purposes only. PSNC Energy does not provide specific remodeling services or endorse any contractors or builders.
PSNC Energy appliance sales, installation, maintenance, and repair are not a part of the regulated services offered by PSNC Energy and are not in any way sanctioned by the North Carolina Utilities Commission. There is no advantage to customers of PSNC Energy if they buy these products or services from PSNC Energy. A customer does not have to buy such products or services in order to continue to receive the same safe and reliable natural gas service from PSNC Energy.
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