Building Green

So you want to be green. Are we talking Kermit, Hornet, or chlorophyll with a dash of parsley?

In following postings I hope to share the things that I have learned about being green, in the energy sense, over the past many years. There will be a little history, a little self promotion (I hope very little) on why we think we are the best. And maybe even some links to web sites that I think you would enjoy (if I can figure out how to do that).

But back to being a good steward of the earth, your money and your lifestyle; that is what being green means to me.

You will find that I will frequently be talking about balance (avoiding extremes) (yes, I know that I use brackets to much and maybe even commas. That’s one extreme that I’m working on) and “green you can live with”. Let’s start with the balance issue. If you want to have the lowest impact “home” I’m willing to sell you a buffalo hide and a forested lot. Collect the brush for the extreme cold times and build a fire when the hide isn’t enough, camp under the trees and forage to get along. Or, and I saw this a few weeks ago in the high desert part of our state, I can build you a home using the latest in site orientation, solar PV, geothermal, and reclaimed material. It was a beautiful design, if you like modern architecture, and a mere 7,000 sq. ft. with an underground garage for many cars (good, you caught the sarcasm in that last part). Or, we can provide something with more balance — that is what I hope to bring to you in future musings.

Having a degree in history, I have a need to give some background. Very early in the 70’s Breeden Homes was building with advanced framing techniques (which we still practice, even though it is harder now due to the increased seismic and structural requirements). We started building homes with tighter building envelopes in the mid 70’s, including a de-humidifier in each home to help control the air quality. We were the first and are currently one of the few who provide raised heel trusses to get the maximum amount of insulation at the perimeter of your home where it is most needed.

SMALL COMMERCIAL – COME BY OUR MODEL HOME AND SEE A FULL SCALE MOCK-UP OF HOW THIS WORKS.

So that is a glimpse of our 62 year history. In the next little while I will talk about things that make up the “total package” of being green. Things like lifestyle, home size, value, pay back, workmanship, green washing, the Snackwell effect, Energy Star, HVAC options, code requirements, and the total impact of choices.

I trust you will enjoy these short posts. I realize that there are many views and an unbelievable amount of “green information” being promoted these days. Hopefully we’ll be able to find that balance I referred to at the start.

May you find the home you envision.

Byron