Despite more awareness about green building, there is still a lot of confusion about what green building is.  For most experts, there are five main characteristics:

• Have an environmentally friendly site or "footprint."  Some of the factors involved are orientation of the house to maximize natural sunlight for heat and light, as well as shade for cooling.  The home's furnace and air conditioning will not have to work as hard to maintain a comfortable house.  Another goal is making minimal impact on the building site itself.  Take down only trees that would interfere with construction - no clear cutting.  The remaining trees will help cool the house in summer and act as windbreakers in the winter. 
• Use energy efficient designs and materials. There are designs and materials specifically designed to keep the house nearly air-tight. With less outside air in the home, the interior climate is easier to control. LED lights and Energy Star appliances use much less energy and operate far more efficiently than their older counterparts.
• Reduce home's water consumption with low-flow fixtures.  Earlier made low-flow plumbing fixtures caused some problems - but today's versions are better than the old water hogs.  One technology is use of air which creates a low-flow shower that feels just as strong as the one using more.
• Promote a healthy indoor air environment.  Air-tight houses are critical to energy efficiency, but the result is air quality that is five times more polluted than the outdoor air.  Green buildings use some kind of air ventilation to exhaust the stale indoor air to the outside and bring in fresh outdoor air and conserve energy.
• Emphasize material conservation and waste reduction while using sustainable products.  There are all kinds of products to save lumber by using OVE (optimal value engineered) joists and beams that require less cutting and therefore less waste.  Another form of reduction is building homes that use materials that require less maintenance.  Metal for cement-tile roofing will hold up longer than standard shingle- many having life expectancies of half a century!

We may not think of the following as green building, but they all assist in saving our environment in some way - and if each of us made small changes as these, we can all make a big difference!

·         Dual-flush toilets

·         Low-VOC paints

·         Formaldehyde-free insulation

·         Use lumber that comes from forests managed with sustainable methods

·         2x6 wall studs, which allow the studs to be spaced farther apart to save lumber wood and make the walls thicker to allow for more insulation

·         Ventilation systems wrapped and sealed to prevent heat and air conditioning from leaking out