Easy ways to green your home

Some of the smartest green ideas are decidedly low-tech. Fact is, the sustainable homes of the future look a lot like those of the past.

 

Inconspicuously green

 

A very traditional home can become energy- and resource-efficient. When this house in Washington, D.C. was built in the 1950s, most of its windows got direct sun. But then it was remodeled to better suit D.C.'s steamy summers.The new covered porch shelters east-facing windows from morning rays. When the sun moves west, the porch provides a shady, AC-free retreat.The porch columns are not chemically treated to repel rot or harvested from some far-off rain forest. Instead, they're made from the naturally rot-resistant trunks of Eastern Red Cedar trees grown nearby.

It's all about the eaves

    

A roof should overhang walls by at least one foot. That keeps the sun off windows and exteriors, which helps the house stay cool in summer.It also protects siding from the weather, meaning you may be able to go twice as long between repaintings or re-sidings.

Reuse and remodel

             

 

The house you fix up will probably be much greener than anything you build in its place, no matter how cutting edge the new design or how much recycled material you use.Sure, some old houses just can't be saved. But even a building with serious problems can give you plenty to work with. You might, for example, be able to salvage the first floor and build around it. With a total teardown, all the stuff that went into building the old house, including the fossil fuels the original construction crew had to burn, goes to waste. (Construction material is one of the largest contributors to landfills.)And, of course, you'll consume a lot of energy and materials putting up a new structure. If you choose to remodel, consider expanding up rather than out. That's an easy way to control your home's carbon footprint.                 
            

Yes, size matters

Cathedral ceilings were once the rage, but they can make heating your home a lot more expensive.        

The average new American home occupies about 2,500 square feet, up from 1,700 in 1977. And it's not just the floor plans that expanded: Builders fell in love with double-height ceilings and cavernous, echoing "great rooms."Fight the urge to go big and high. Not only is a smaller, well-proportioned house easier to heat and to cool, but you'll need to buy less furniture to feel at home in it. And isn't consuming less the whole point? Some specifics to remember: A kitchen should match how you really cook
Unless you regularly prepare five-course meals with the help of a sous-chef, you'll likely find it most convenient to work in a kitchen that's no more than 20 feet long, with countertops no more than four feet apart. Bedrooms are for beds
The best bedrooms are designed around the spot where you'll sleep, not around the sitting area that you probably won't use as often as you think. Chairs in bedrooms have a way of just collecting the laundry you've been meaning to put away. More rooms can be better than one giant space
Instead of a high-ceilinged great room that combines a kitchen, dining room and living room, use the same square footage for a combination of rooms with standard ceilings. Divide them with french doors that you can open out when you want family togetherness. If you're building or renovating, the construction costs can be $100 per square foot lower than those for a double-height space. By getting rid of all that air overhead, you'll save on energy too.        

        

The latest on renewable energy

          

 

The wind
Let's just say you probably won't be installing a wind turbine in your backyard anytime soon. Even if the homeowners association didn't come after you with torches and pitchforks, the truth is most places aren't breezy enough.But in many areas it is possible to sign up with an electricity provider that gets its juice from renewable sources, often including wind. Your monthly bill may be about $10 higher, but you'll be doing your bit for the planet.Go to the Department of Energy's Green Power Network to find your local provider. The sun
A solar water-heating system can reduce the fossil fuel you'll need for showering and washing clothes. Before installing one, determine whether you have a sunny enough location to recoup the up-front costs, which can range from $3,000 to $8,000.
A solar electricity system can be pricey too. But if you're building, consider having your home pre-wired for it (for an extra $1,500 or so). Then you can install photovoltaic panels after they get cheaper (as they undoubtedly will).                  

Get a zone defense
    

             

 

Thermostats have become as smart as your iPod.You can program them to respond to your use patterns, cutting your energy bills by nearly 10%, according to data from Energy Star, a government program that sets efficiency standards.If you want to get fancy, you can divide your house into multiple climate zones so that you heat or cool only the rooms that need it.In summer you can focus the air conditioning on bedrooms and spaces that get the most sun.