While the overall housing sector is experiencing a downturn, the green building market continues to thrive, according to panelists speaking at an International Builders’ Show press conference last month in Orlando.

“This is a fantastic time for those of us who have been doing green building for the past 20 years,” said Donna Shirey, CGR, CAPS, a builder and remodeler and president of Shirey Contracting Inc. located outside of Seattle.

Shirey says, there are three main components that go into green remodeling

1. Energy efficiency
2. Better indoor air quality
3. Sustainable recycled materials

“With remodeling, we start at the roof and work our way down by using spray foam to seal all the open spaces,” she said. “The next step is to seal the walls and door between the garage and house and insulate, insulate, insulate.”

The easiest way to make a house air-tight is to use structured insulated panels (SIPs), which are high-performance panels used in floors, walls and roofs, she said. SIPs are manufactured under factory-controlled conditions and can be custom-designed for each home.

Shirey offered several tips for novices seeking to engage in green remodeling.

“Use sustainable materials such as low-VOC paint, get rid of carpeting, use Energy Star appliances and windows and replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs.”

According to Energy Star, if every American replaced just one light bulb with an Energy Star-qualified bulb, “we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year and more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars.”

“Green building and remodeling allows us to be energy-efficient, reduce waste, use recyclable materials and provide homes that are healthy to live in,” Shirey said.

Take the Lead on Green Building

Register now for the 2008 National Green Building Conference, held May 11-13 in New Orleans. Get contacts, tools and ideas that are good for both the environment and your bottom line.

The National Green Building Conference is the only national conference targeted to green building for the mainstream residential building industry. Network with designers and suppliers, attend exceptional education sessions and develop the skills you need for profitable green building. 

For information and to register, visit www.nahb.org/greenbuildingconference, call 800-368-5242 x8338 or e-mail registrar@nahb.com. [ return to top ]