Sustainable building is a design, usually architectural, conforming to environmentally sound principles of building, material and energy use. A green building, for example, might make use of solar panels, skylights and recycled building materials. A green building should provide increased efficiency with regard to resources such as water and energy consumption while simultaneously reducing impacts on human health and to the environment.
At Ivan Stanley Custom Home Builders, we pride ourselves on continued education in this trend. Jeremy Fischer utilizes sustainable building materials and practices as frequently as possible and will work closely with homeowners to create an environmentally friendly home. This first article in our Sustainable Building series will give you a brief overview of some common green building terms. Stay tuned for additional information and a more detailed conversation about building with environmental health in mind.
Sustainable Building Terms
• Active Solar: A solar panel attached to a system using mechanical devices such as pumps or fans that transfers collected heat through a series of pipes to the storage medium and/or end use.
• Agrifiber Board: A manufactured composite panel with characteristics similar to panels produced with wood fibers. Typically derived from agricultural waste fiber such as sunflower husk, walnut husks, and many other waste materials.
• Blown-in-Blanket-System (BIBS) or blown in batt: an insulation system that blows dry white fiberglass insulation into walls, floors, attics and cathedral ceilings to offer a more uniform R-value and control air infiltration
• Building Envelope: Elements of the building, including all external building materials, windows, and walls, that enclose the internal space.
• Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL): Small fluorescent lamps used as ore efficient alternatives to incandescent ligting. Also called PL, CFL, Twin-Tube, or BIAX lamps.
• Geothermal/Ground Source Heat Pump: Geothermal refers to heat produced by the internal temperatures of the earth. Geothermal heat pumps are underground coils used to transfer heat from the ground to the inside of a building.
• IAQ: Indoor Air Quality
• Low Emissivity (low-E) Windows: Low Emissivity refers to a newer technology of window that allows light to transfer through to the interior, while utilizing a radiant or reflective property to prevent heat from escaping to the exterior of the home.
• Oriented Strand Board (OSB): OSB is a high strength wood panel that is manufactured by binding wood waste scraps using resin and pressure.
• Radiant Slab Floor: A radiant slab floor is a floor that contains heated pipes or cables, thereby turning the concrete slab into a thermal mass that retains heat and provides an even, continuous heat source within the home.