Green Building

Become Familiar with the Basics...


Green building is about constructing homes that are healthy to live in, have a minimal impact on the environment, are durable, are inexpensive to heat and maintain and are constructed with exceptional craftsmanship. In building a green environmentally responsible home, important factors to consider are:
• Energy efficiency
• On-site use of technologies such as photovoltaics to capture the sun's energy, passive solar panels for domestic hot water, geothermal energy, biomass heating units and wind turbines.
• Using sustainable materials
• Attention to the orientation of the house to its surrounding environment, including the sun and other natural features of the land.
• Impact of the building site on the local and global environment.
• Durability of construction.
• Conservation of natural resources, including water.
• Reducing waste and recycling in the building process.
• Types of fuel used to heat and provide energy for the house.


A good place to start in learning about green building and what is involved in doing that is with the book "Your Green Home" by Alex Wilson. Learn more about this book on their website: www.buildinggreen.com/yourgreenhome


What's next?


After you have learned the basics and are ready to start considering more specifics, visit www.efficiencyvermont.com. Efficiency Vermont oversees the Vermont Energy Star Homes program. To find Vermont Energy Star builders from Efficiency Vermont's website, click Residential Home Page, then Building Efficiently, then Vermont Energy Star Homes, then Vermont Energy Star Homebuilders. Enrollment in Vermont Energy Star Homes program is required on Coyote Ridge, however if any homeowner/builder would like to go beyond this program there are three Certification programs that the homeowner and builder may choose from. These are The National Association of Homebuilders Green Building Program, Vermont Builds Greener (VBG) Certification and LEEDS for Homes Certification given by the United States Green Building Council. All of these rating systems are explained at www.vermontgreenhomealliance.org.

Please keep in mind that a green home may be between 5% to 10% more expensive to build but the green features that involve energy efficiency and sustainability will reduce long term costs in fuel and maintenance that will more than offset the additional up-front costs, frequently in only a few years.