As a builder that believes in making green building part of every project, we keep a careful eye out for new products. Sometimes, it’s not the actual product itself that we love, but rather it’s the green, sustainable and common sense ideas behind the products that can be applied in many different ways as we build and remodel homes for our clients. With that in mind, we’d like to share three favorites from among the recent products recognized by the green building industry as the year’s best.
Living retaining walls. I can tell you that one of the biggest challenges in building or remodeling a home can be the home site. From controlling water to carving out space to add on, a retaining wall is often essential. What’s the green-building solution? SmartSlope Living Retaining Walls (by Furbish Company) are cement-block-based retaining wall systems provide storm water retention and erosion control. What’s “green” about them – literally – is that you can tuck plants in to the face of the wall. Within just months of construction, the wall is covered with plants. It’s beautiful and the roots of the plants also help with water and erosion control.
Wireless lighting controls. Adura Technologies is a good example of companies coming out with wireless lighting controls that automatically turn off unneeded lights. With theirs, you have the option of individually controlling different spaces in the house. They’re great for green remodeling, too since the wireless set up is so “retrofit friendly.”
Block the glare not the view. There are some truly “cool” new window solutions for controlling heat and glare. With Sage Electrochromatics, for example, you just flip a switch and windows darken to block glare and keep rooms cool despite a blazing sun and lower peak energy demand by as much as 24 percent!
Now, such leading-edge options don’t make sense for every homeowner. Still, the innovation behind these three examples offers a glimpse of just how many “green building” products are available to help builders and remodelers fit sustainability, energy savings and eco-friendliness into your project.
Check out our website to find out more about our green building services!
