What is green building really?

There is a lot of confusion about what is a green or sustainable home. The confusion is understandable because this is a highly complex question and topic and there is not one right answer. There is instead an “it depends” answer that so many of us find frustrating.

What I mean is that true green building practices cover many topics, strategies, and technologies and can be pushed to an almost infinite level. I like to call this “shades of green” because the spectrum of green design is so broad.

There are shades of green for:
- Energy: How much energy are you saving and what is the source of the energy? I.e. are you generating the energy you consume or does your energy source come from the burning of imported fossil fuels?
- Water: How much water are you saving and what is the source of that water? Are you using potable water for landscaping when you could be using harvested rainwater?
- Rainwater management: Are you collecting and using rain on the property or is this precious resource running off your property, down the storm drain and carrying pollutants to our near shore resources?
- Landscaping: Are you using native and adaptive species appropriate for your neighborhood?
- What materials are used in your home: Are there materials that could be used that are healthier?

These topics are some of the most commonly discussed and each has a scale for implementation or “greenness”. For example, are you generating 5% of the energy that you are using or 100%? 5% is good but 100% is great, so you see it “all depends”. Factors that influence the shade of green on any project include the goals, the needs, the site, and the budget. So we are left with shades of green.

The ultimate goal is what I call Dark Green projects. That is when all the strategies and technologies come together is a significant manner which results in a much lower footprint, higher quality of life, and importantly the life cycle analysis (life cost) is lower than conventional construction. That is the goal. Everyone wins

Welcome to the blog for the New Hawaiian Home.

This blog has been set up as a forum to share ideas and details about the New Hawaiian Home and initiate a dialogue about green or sustainable design in an open practical application for Hawaii. This project is intended to be a learning classroom; we invite you to our classroom and to be an active participant. Please submit questions or topics that you would like us to discuss.

We will begin with new topics for information and dialogue. Topics may change as interests come to light in the weeks ahead.

- What is green building really?
- How does the design of the home impact how we live?
- Why is green construction important from the perspective of the BIA?
- Do you foresee an increase in the demand for green homes? Why do you think there is this interest?
- How is passive design different than standard home design?
- Why is up front planning and design critical to successful green design?
- What classes can individuals take to learn more about sustainable homes building practices? (CGP class)
- How can planning for the project upfront reduce waste?
- How does a whole house fan work?
- What are aquaponics?
- How does light fixture selection impact energy efficiency.