Conditioned Air | Green Construction Contractor

Counting Down to Quality

November 20th, 2011 — Green Construction, Home

There are five common errors that builders make in the efficiency of energy, resources and health. There are far too many green builders out there that are completely missing the mark. There are five mistakes that are being perpetrated, but that you can avoid easily with the right know-how.

#5: Installing HVAC Ducts in Unconditioned Spaces

HVAC ducts should be installed in better locations, such as between the floors or in dropped soffits that are positioned within conditioned areas inside the home. This way, the conditioned air will always travel though the ducts at the room temperature. Some builders that are thinking ahead are making sure to condition the attic, placing insulation in the roof deck rather than in the ceiling to bring down attic temperatures which is a step in the right direction.

#4: Tight Homes Build without Any Ventilation

You should be installing a complete house ventilation system as standard equipment within a home in order to provide plenty of fresh air in a home that is air tight. The solution is always to design a home with fresh air in mind. A whole house ventilation system should be installed and then tested for performance. The ventilation system should make sure that the house is bringing in as well as dispersing 50 CFM worth of fresh air for a period of 15 or 20 minutes every hour or so for the best results.

#3: Using Improper Flashing and Improper Drainage Planes

When it comes to managing water, using improper drainage planes and flashing is a rookie mistake. It becomes important, then, to pay extremely close attention to flashing on windows, sealing penetrations and where the water coming off of your roof is ending up. There is very little room available for flexibility. You need to be prepared to pain flash doors and windows in every type of climate for the best results. You also want to flash any and all penetrations using a weather resistant barriers, and kick flashing, complex connections and gutters should all be properly flashed and drained using intentional paths for water, slopes and shingling.

#2: Selecting and Installing the Wrong Insulation

We only get one single shot when it comes to properly insulating our homes as well as air sealing them, and this is not a place where we should be scrimping. It is vitally important, then, that we choose the right type of insulation, such as a sturdy blown-in type of insulation that can fill walls as compactly and as tightly as possible. All penetrations in the attic, garage and leading outdoors should be sealed to get the most out of your insulation. The right sealing with the right insulation will mean cheaper heating and cooling costs as well as improved customer satisfaction at the same time.

#1: Wasting Resources

You probably do not need as much stuff as you once thought. The building industry often uses too many resources, wasting them. What are you throwing away that could be reused? There is nothing more effective in green building than reusing everything that you can. There are always ways to be more profitable, greener and infinitely more effective just by using less. If you plan ahead and really take a hard look at what you're looking at, you can find ways to streamline the building process, wasting fewer resources in the process.

Photo Credits: billjacobus1

Originally posted 2009-07-24 05:22:03. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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