Articles about Green Building & Restoration. Castalia Homes

What About Going Green in Indiana?

2012-04-26T03:37:00.000-07:00

These days green buildings are an important option among different building systems. Green building technology, also known as "sustainable building" or "green construction", is a process of building based upon water and energy efficiency, and the use of eco-friendly building materials.

Growing number of Indianapolis green homes is a perfect basement for joining the green building societies of the United States. Also, the Indiana Home Builders Association announced its plans on "going green".

So why are green homes so popular everywhere in the U.S., including Indianapolis?

Among the main goals of green building are environmental protection, water and energy usage reduction, and healthy environments for home residents. Practices and technologies employed in the process of green building may vary from region to region, but the fundamental principles, used to build Indianapolis green homes too, remain the same: Energy Efficiency, Water Efficiency, Materials Efficiency, Sustainable Indoor and Outdoor Design, and Waste and Toxin Reduction.

Green Homes may also be described as Zero-energy Homes, if they are designed with self-energy systems. To reduce energy consumption and waste, several different types of insulation and energy-saving devices are used. The most common method of energy conservation is to use renewable energy sources: solar power, wind power, hydro power or biomass.

Indianapolis Green Homes are now widely featured at the Indianapolis Home Show and other local building exhibitions. There you can also find custom homes, timber frame structures and much more.

We would like to know: What is your opinion about the future of green building in the State of Indiana?

Are Floor Heating Systems Used in Green Homes?

2012-03-26T05:39:00.000-07:00

Do You know what are Radiant Floor Heating systems and how do they work? Have You ever thought why are Radiant Floor Heating systems used in green and sustainable homes? What are the main benefits of Radiant Floor Heating systems? Are they a better choice than Forced Hot Air systems? Let’s discuss!

Radiant Floor Heating systems provide homeowners with efficient and cost effective heating solution, while causing minimal interior changes, so they are pretty good decision for green homes. There are different kinds of Underfloor Heating systems which are used depending on flooring installed.

Among available types of Floor Heating Systems the most popular are matting, foil and loose wire systems.

Loose Wire Radiant Floor Heating systems are usually installed under stone and tiles flooring in smaller areas of your home such as bathrooms or kitchen.

Matting Radiant Floor Heating systems are recommended to install for larger spaces or rooms and will essentially hidden under wood, vinyl, linoleum or carpet. Matting systems are easiest to install as they have the form of a rolled mat that keeps heating elements at the right width from each other.

The Foil Based Heating systems are used with laminate or carpeted floors and even with cork engineered wood because of their safety. The heating elements of such systems are coated in foil.

All kinds of Radiant Floor Heating systems are recommended to supplement with floor insulation for more home efficiency.

The main benefit of Underfloor Heating systems compared to other kinds of heating is the providing of warmth straightly to inhabitants (by the feet) instead of blowing hot air that will concentrate under the ceiling. Furthermore, the body contact with warm floor while stepping out from bathroom or just walking around on bare feet has no equivalent feeling.

However, while installing Radiant Floor Heating You should always keep in mind the kind of flooring in the room for choosing better suitable kind of heating device. And then enjoy efficient warm floors in your Green Home!

Castalia Homes Builders - Certified Green Professionals!

2012-03-06T05:19:00.000-08:00

Building a quality green home is a task that needs a lot of special skills, but not only skills are required. Today’s building market has very tough competition of home builders and building companies, so it might be confusing for a homeowner to find qualified professional for building a green home. To help the consumers identify the professional green home builders and their level of education various certifications were created (such as LEED). To educate the green home builders some programs were created too. National Association of Home Builders provides NAHB Education for its members and affiliates to achieve the highest level of participation, leadership, professionalism and business profitability. NAHB supplies green home builders with a variety of educational resources.

The most commonly known and recognized NHAB designation is Certified Green Professional. Green home builders must complete the necessary training to join the NAHB National Green Building Standards Program, which provides a set of National Standards about how to build green homes. NAHB has the responsibility to standardize the actual meaning of green home building. The Certified Green Professional designation confirms and extends previous designations for green home builders such as Energy Star, LEED certifications etc.

Professional green home builders recognize the National Association of Home Builders as a leading database of housing knowledge and regularly refer to the association for continuing education.

Castalia Home Builders as professional green home builders and members of NAHB also regularly attend education courses provided by the association and increase the level of education. So if you’re interested in building high-quality green home, please contact us at http://www.castaliahomes.com/contact-us.html

Castalia Homes: LEED certificated green homes

2012-02-20T03:01:00.000-08:00

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) system is a rating green building certification system. This system is provided by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC;) a Washington-based non-profit organization that stands for prosperous and sustainable future for the nation trough cost-efficient and energy-saving green buildings.

The LEED program covers over 4.5 billion square feet of construction space in the United States and other 91 countries. The current number of participating projects reaches 35,000.

LEED for homes is the part of program (and the nationally accepted benchmark) for the design and construction of high-quality green homes. LEED certification, developed in 2000, offers tree-stage rating system that measures a homes performance on eight categories: site selection, water efficiency, materials, & resources, energy & atmosphere, indoor environmental quality, location & linkages, awareness & education, and innovation.

Each LEED-certified home passes inspections and testing individually to ensure its high performance. After all inspections are made it gets one of these tree rated stages: silver, gold or platinum.

Castalia Homes is a green building company that uses USGBC LEED certification for the every home they build. Castalia Homes just certified another LEED for homes house and now has the most certified green, highest performing homes in the State of Indiana!!!

Castalia homes: the main principles of green design

2012-02-13T03:46:00.001-08:00

Green, or sustainable design is an important part of the green building process. To create a green design for your home you should follow its principles. While there’s a variety of a practical applications, the principles of green design are mostly similar to green building fundamentals.

First, when choosing an interior, use low-impact materials. The perfect materials for green design are non-toxic, sustainably produced or recycled. Local or bio-regional materials managed from renewable sources are usually preferred.

The next important feature is quality and durability. Always choose longer-lasting, and better-functioning products that need replaced less frequently.

Sustainable design is also associated with a design for reuse and recycling. Some parts of the interior can be made from products that are reused and will have their “afterlife.”

Second, sustainable design should support the energy efficiency of your home. The general plan of the interior should include manufacturing processes which require less energy.

Waste prevention plays a great role in green building, so it should also be continued in green design.

In conclusion, based on the main principles of green building, green design should be natural, efficient, durable, and of a high quality. If you turn on your imagination and use these principles as a guide, your home will not just be “green,” but it will look amazing as well!

Green Design: Common Intentions and Applications

2012-02-02T05:10:00.000-08:00

Design always plays a great role in building because it effects how convenient and spectacular your home will be. When building green, design is not less important. In green building there are some principles that should be extended in design too. As a result a new kind of design appeared, green design that is also called sustainable design or ecological design.

The main intention of sustainable design, as it was said exactly in “The Philosophy of Sustainable Design” by J. F. McLennan, is to to "eliminate negative environmental impact completely through skillful, sensitive design." The principles to use no non-renewable resources, to impact the environment minimally, and relate people with natural environment are used during design, the same as during green building.

All the details of ecological design provide not just things for life but also a special behavior and relations between user and object or service. This relationship should be long-term, respectful and mindful.

Sustainable design may be considered a philosophy that can range from microcosm (small things for everyday use) to macrocosm (buildings, cities, etc.) This philosophy can be applied in the fields of architecture, interior design and landscape design.

A main factor in ecological design is reducing. By choosing green building technologies, and green design for our homes we reduce the impact of building and of our everyday home life on the natural environment.

Going green by using LEDs

2012-01-27T01:45:00.000-08:00

An integral part of green building is energy efficiency in your home. When thinking about building a green home you need to decide what kind of lighting will be installed.

Usual incandescent lamps have become outdated. Due to the trends of the last decade, a lot of people began to use compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs,) which are more efficient than incandescent bulbs.

Today, there is an additional alternative technology that really works, light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs. The difference between LEDs and other forms of lighting is mostly made by a Solid State Lighting (SSL) it uses diodes as a source of illumination instead of gas or electrical filaments. Because of this fact they stay cold, live longer and break less easily. LED lighting can also be easily focused on a specific target.

LEDs produce more light per watt – nearly 48-70 lumen's per watt, while CFLs provide nearly 60, and incandescent – just 13! Their life time is from 40,000 to 50,000 hours, for CFLs it’s – 10,000 hours, and incandescents only 750 hours!

The reduction of energy use leads to a lower cost of energy bills. LED bulbs cost a bit more than CFLs but even considering the prices they will undoubtedly save not just energy, but your money too.

Another advantage of LEDs is their safety. These bulbs do not contain mercury as CFLs bulbs. So there are no risks of toxic exposure and no problems with their utilization. LED lights do not emit significant UV or IR radiation.

You can make an impact on global environmental protection by using LED bulbs. If 25 percent of the light bulbs in the US were converted to LED bulbs it could save $115 billion in utility costs by 2025, alleviating the need to build 133 new coal-burning power stations and cutting carbon emissions by 258 million metric tons. This means that if every household or business in the U.S. replaced just one or two standard incandescent bulbs with LED bulbs, the electricity saved would be more than the output of the country’s largest nuclear power plant.

So think about these statements and go green using a light-emitting diode lighting!

Estimating your home electronic devices energy usage

2012-01-18T01:45:00.000-08:00

The energy efficiency of your home is actually something that needs a lot of attention. Of course, installing different energy efficient devices will help to achieve the reduction of energy bills, but it is not the only thing that matters. If you are really interested and determined to conserve energy in your home you should also keep an eye on the amount of energy used. To be informed on this topic you should be informed about your many electronic devices. Determining approximately how much electricity is actually used is really easy.

You can use this formula to estimate an appliance's energy use:

(Wattage × Hours Used Per Day) ÷ 1000 = Daily Kilowatt-hour (kWh) consumption

1 kilowatt (kW) = 1,000 Watts

Usually on each electronic device the amount of watts it uses is printed on itself or on a nameplate, stamped on the back or bottom. You can also figure it by multiplying the drawn current (amperes) by the voltage. Pay attention that the wattage shown on the device is a maximum, so it actually used less watts unless you have them turned up to maximum power.

The greatest amount of electricity is typically used by the water heater ( f. e. 40 gallon water heater uses nearly 4500-5500 Watts,) that’s why installing solar water heaters is becoming more and more popular and efficient. This topic was discussed on our blog earlier.

When calculating the amount of energy used by your electronic devices do not forget to factor in time of use. Many appliances continue to draw a small amount of power when they are switched off, such as VCRs, televisions, stereos, computers, and kitchen appliances.

After providing this research you’ll know the usage of which appliances you should reduce, and maybe it is possible to switch them to more energy efficient products.

End the Fight with Inflating Energy Bills in Several Steps

2012-01-11T00:44:00.000-08:00

According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA,) savings achieved by using low-energy appliances are counter-acted by the increasing usage of electronic devices. The EIA says that energy exhaustion will increase 40% by 2035. (Energy rates have risen up to 20% since 2005.)

Nowadays there are plenty of strategies on how to manage the rising energy costs. Here are some of them shown in steps that will help to reduce high energy bills, not just now, but for later years too.

Step 1: Install Solar Panels

Installing a residential photovoltaic (PV) system is a good start to your long-term protection program against rising energy costs. Thanks to current solar rebate and incentive programs provided at the federal, state and local levels you can save 30 to 60 % or more of the installation costs.

Step 2: Cut Hot Water Costs

Nearly 11% of energy costs are for hot water. It is possible to cut hot water costs in a half by installing a solar hot water system. Using the sun’s free energy, it heats the water in an insulated tank. Working even on cloudy days it reduces energy usage by giving the water heater partially heated water.

Step 3: Rethink Heating Systems

Commonly, forced-air heaters are used to heat homes in the U.S. The air that blows out of the registers, even if it is really hot, quickly sheds that heat as it moves around the house, making this way of heating highly uneven. The best alternative is radiant heating systems, which consist of either electric wires or hot-water tubes installed under flooring. These systems can be up to 30% more efficient than forced-air systems.

Step 4: Green Up Your Electronics

Due to the EIA reports 50% of Americans own three or more TV sets and around 44% own more than three rechargeable devices. Plug-in (re)chargers can add to electrical costs. It is more efficient to use solar electronic (re)chargers. They are inexpensive and can easily recharge not only batteries, your MP3 player, cell phone or mobile device as well.

Implementation of this simple plan will give you great results and will significantly reduce your energy costs.

Green building: energy efficient solar hot water systems

2011-12-26T02:31:00.000-08:00

During the green building process there are three main ideas to follow. Your home should be healthy, the building process should preserve the environment, and of course it should be energy efficient.

The main idea behind solar hot water systems is that they use a free, abundant natural resource; the sun’s energy. It reduces greenhouse gas emissions, thus contributing to environmental protection. It also saves you money by reducing the costs of your hot water bills.

Installing a solar hot water system makes great economic sense, as the prices for other energy sources grow and these systems easily pay for themselves over their lifetime (considering current prices they tend to pay for themselves in 5-15 years.). The system can be installed in a few days, and it can work for over 30 years if receiving regular annual maintenance checks.

Solar hot water systems can save over 18% of your tax payments each year. They also increase the property value of your green home.

Usually solar hot water system consists of a solar collector, a heat charger and a storage tank. In general solar collectors, mounted on the roof look like a quality, opaque, glass skylight that improves the appearance of the home.

The suitability is approved too! A typical system requires just up to six meters of roof space for collectors. This is a reliable and tested technology that really works and saves your own resources as well as environmental resources!

Green building materials when flooring: choose the right one!

2011-12-12T06:01:00.000-08:00

During green building, different materials can be used. All of them are natural, non-toxic, energy-saving, used long-term and will save your resources. The most popular materials used in flooring are,

bamboo
cork
glazed porcelain tile
composite decking
teak interlocking deck tiles

Bamboo is widely used for "green" flooring because of its physical similarities to hardwoods. It is strong, durable, as well as resistant to insects and moisture.

Cork is first used for wine corks, but the remainder is used for a number of green building material applications, most notably for flooring. There is little or no waste and the trees remain unharmed by this strictly controlled harvesting process.

Glazed porcelain tile is comprised of up to 40% recyclable materials, which are described as "post-industrial," that is, materials which are leftover from the production of other unrelated goods. It is a much harder material and more wear and damage resistant than non-porcelain ceramic tiles.

Composite decking makes use of recycled materials, putting discarded elements like plastics to a long-lasting second use.

The production of teak interlocking deck tiles contributes to the conservation of natural resources and the reduction of raw material use. The wood content of teak deck tiles is 100% pre-consumer recycled material procured from the manufacturer's in-house furniture production.

Among these materials you can always choose more efficient and suitable for you, join green building with us!

Building Green: Purchasing of Green Building Materials

2011-12-03T11:08:00.000-08:00

Before you begin your green home construction, you must have green building materials. There are some limitations however, in terms of what you are able to purchase.

When you are interested in building green, you must still consider your budget. When you look for green building materials you will probably find that the greener the product, the more expensive it is. Those products that are less green tend to be cheaper. If you cannot afford the more expensive, or green products, do not push yourself. Choose the home building materials that are in your price range.

The second limitation in building green is the local market supply. The green building materials that are offered in your area may not be as green as the products offered in other areas, but you should not order them from somewhere else. You want to build a green home which means you want to care for the environment. Remember, the delivery of green building materials will not be green at all.

In conclusion, building green does not mean that your future home will be totally green, and that you will use the best quality of green building materials. The idea is to go as green as possible while considering your financial capacities, and your local building market supply.

Building Green: Building Orientation

2011-11-29T16:45:00.000-08:00

If you do choose to build green, there are several things you should keep in mind during the construction phase. In addition to the materials used for constructing the home, and the location of your future green home, you should also pay attention to building orientation. This means that the windows of your green building should be faced to the north or to the south. This will depend on the climate.

If your green home is located in a southern climate, you will want to make the northern windows larger and the southern windows smaller. Large northern windows will provide the building with cooler light. The same way small southern windows will limit the influence of hot light. In addition you can shade the southern windows of your green home to avoid direct sunlight.

If you are going to live in a northern climate, you may face cold winters. This is why your green home should have large southern windows to allow the hot southern sunlight to warm your home during the winter.

Building orientation is part of building green because it allows you to minimize the utilization of heating and cooling devices. This leads to reducing energy use, as well as lower maintenance costs.

Site Aspect of Building Green: Part 2

2011-11-26T08:57:00.000-08:00

When considering the site aspect of building green, you should be knowledgeable in regards to what types of alternative sources of energy exist and what their benefits are.

You may consider building a green home on a stream or river, this way you will be provided with drinking water. In addition you will be able to build a micro-hydro power generator to generate electricity for your home.

You may choose the highlands as a site for your future green home. On the highlands there is a steady wind. This means that you will be able to make a passive heating or cooling system for your green building through ventilation. The steady wind will also allow you to improve your green building by constructing a wind turbine which will provide you with electricity.

The most popular alternative source of energy is the sun. In order to take full advantage of solar energy your green building should be located on a site with good solar exposure. You should also make sure that nothing obstructs the exposure. There should be no shadows from trees or billboards on the solar collectors.

There are many other alternate sources of energy. Of course, the usage of any of them requires additional costs during the construction phase of your building. The point however is that all of these alternative sources of energy are free, and in the long run you will save a great deal of money.

Site Aspect of Building Green: Part 1

2011-11-26T08:38:00.000-08:00

Many people are interested in building green. The ecological situation of our planet contributes to this phenomenon, people have begun to think about the future of their children. Green homes are also a great way to reduce maintenance costs and improve quality of life.

If you make the decision to go green when you build, you should consider the location of your future sustainable building. If you ignore the site aspect of building green or pay little attention to it, you may not be able to receive the full financial benefits from your green building in the form of energy efficiency.

Site aspect of building green means that before starting the construction of your environmentally friendly home, you should think about what type of alternate source of energy you will be able to use in that specific area. Your chosen source of energy will affect the cost of your future green home and the way it is constructed.

Building Green: Think about the long term

2011-11-21T15:36:00.000-08:00

At one point in time it was common belief that building "green" was more expensive and more time consuming. Because of that, green building (sustainable building) was not popular and spread very slowly. This however, is a common misconception. An economic analysis study came to the conclusion that, despite the fact that building green requires more construction costs, in the long term it leads to the significant financial benefits. Benefits which exceed the initial investment over ten times.

The benefits of building green are, increased productivity, health, lower energy consumption, lower water costs and waste. All these result in saving money. The longer you live in the green building, the more money you will save.

It is also important to know that ordinary buildings are the cause of 38% of carbon dioxide emissions. They also use 12% of the water and 70% of the electricity in the country. Green buildings are more energy effecient, they use less electricity and natural resources. In building green, we can create a sustainable future for our children.

Why Does Building Green Grow in Popularity?

2011-11-11T14:21:00.000-08:00

The home construction technique called "building green," has rapidly spread all over the USA. This "green" construction is used to build private homes, schools, offices, etc, but why has building green grown in popularity? This is due to the many great advantages of green building (sustainable building) over traditional building.

Some primary advantages of green building are:

improving air and water quality
greater energy efficiency

The improving of air and water quality in green building consists of:

reducing of emissions

usage of less toxic materials

In terms of energy, green homes are up to 30% more efficient than traditional homes. The energy sources used in green building are alternatives which are characterized by:

abundance

cost effectiveness

environmental safety

One example of an alternative source of energy is energy from the sun. Consider the fact that the sun is so powerful that the energy it radiates in one hour is equal to the energy the whole planet consumes in a year. All while being a clean and inexhaustible source of energy.

In total, considering the environmental situation and the exhaustion of the resources used today, it is easy to predict that building green will continue to spread, and in future it will be the main mode of construction.

Mold Remediation: Make on Your Own or Ask for Help from Experts

2011-11-02T15:05:00.000-07:00

If you discover that you have an indoor mold problem you can try to solve it on your own. Mold is a result of moisture, so first you must find the source of the moisture. Second, you must eradicate the mold growth. This can be achieved by several different different remedies; including household cleaners, sunlight, ventilation, as well as non-porous building materials. You can only make a mold remediation on your own when dealing with small occurrences of mold. If the mold growth is significant, you should contact a mold remediation company.

Mold remediation companys consists of specialists who know how to prevent mold growth. They use various effective measures such as ventilation, heat, dry fog, and air conditioning. Some mold remediation companies provide services such as, repairing areas that have been affected and damaged by mold. Well-qualified mold remediation experts will also come up with a solution to the moisture problem that caused to mold growth to begin with. They can also give advice in regards to how to prevent the occurrence of mold growth in the future.

You can find mold remediation specialists who are well-qualified in the fabric restoration process. They will have no problem saving clothes from mold damage and removing odors from fabrics. Clothes damaged by mold and or mold spores can be easily cleaned by professional remediation experts.

Mold Remediation Company Will Make Your Home a Place of Safety and Comfort Once Again

2011-10-20T18:14:00.000-07:00

Home is typically a place where we can relax and enjoy comfort, but our peace of mind can easily be disturbed by mold. Mold does not only look astetically unpleasing, but it can also pose a risk to our health. Mold can appear inside and outside the home. It usually appears near water, in damp environments such as bathrooms. In such an enviroment, mold grows and reproduces rapidly.

If you have found mold in your home or office, it is very important to make a mold remediation as soon as possible, your health could be in danger. Allergic reactions and respiratory problems can be caused by the mold spores present in the air (in large amounts.)

To save your health, the health of your loved ones as well as your home from mold, you must seek timely help from mold remediation experts. The sooner they start to solve the mold problem, the better. The mold remediation specialists provide a full range of mold removal services, they will also take preventative measures so that mold does not begin to grown again.

So, if you have in fact faced a mold problem, contact the mold remediation company, they will make your home a place of safety and comfort once again.

Fire Restoration Company Will Bring Fire Damaged House Back to Life

2011-10-20T18:03:00.000-07:00

No one is safe from unwanted events in life like fire for example. Things like this always occur unexpectedly. In regards to fire, it poses a risk for ones property, their life, and the life of your loved ones. A house can be seriously damaged due to fire. If such a disaster were to occur, this does not necessarily mean that you have lost your house. A fire damaged house can often be restored with the help of fire damage restoration specialists.

Fire damage restoration company(s) consists of experts who offer a vast array of services in terms of fire restoration. No matter the type of property, nor the severity of the damage, the fire damage restoration experts will bring the property back to life. You can be sure that there will not be any signs of fire left on your property after fire damage restoration specialists complete the restoration.

If a fire were to occur in your home you should immediately call the fire department. Then you should contact you homeowners insurance company. After you have had a bit of time to cope with the this traumatic event, you should look to the fire restoration company to return your home to its previous condition.