By Rob Fanjoy

Green building is no longer viewed as a passing fad or some strange notion adopted by militant environmentalists on the fringe of society. In fact, the editors of Harvard Business Review dedicated a large amount of space in their June 2006 issue to explain how green building is now an established mainstream building practice.

Geared mostly toward commercial construction, the article pointed out that even six short years ago, green buildings were generally regarded as interesting experiments but unfeasible in the real world. Since then, hundreds of studies have proven the financial advantages of green buildings (residential and commercial), from reduced construction costs to lower operating costs. There have also been studies that show employers with green buildings experience significant workforce benefits, including better employee attraction and retention, lower absenteeism and improved productivity.

Even so, there are still some persistent myths that keep some in the residential construction industry from accepting that green building is proven effective and here to stay.

Myth #1: Green building is too expensive.
This is a very common misconception. Although it has been debunked many times in the past, it still lingers. “A lot of the high-profile green projects that get builders’ attention are very high-end, and that’s one reason this myth is still around,” says Alex Wilson, president of BuildingGreen Inc. in Brattleboro, Vt. and executive editor of Environmental Building News. “But the simple fact is that there are plenty of strategies for inexpensive green building, from right-sizing the structure to optimal value engineering to reducing waste, among many others.”

Myth #2: Green building is all about material selection.
Wilson says that in the past, people equated green building with using “green materials” such as those with high recycled content, low embodied energy, no VOCs, etc. And while he says that is an important part of constructing a green building, it is still a small part of the big picture. “Other factors such as site selection and energy performance are very important as well,” says Wilson. “People are beginning to gain a greater understanding that green building is a systems approach to the entire construction process.”

Myth #3: Green building products don’t work as well.
Wilson points to low-flow toilets and fiberglass insulation as typical products that continue to get a bad rap. People still think that 1.6 gallon-per-flush toilets don’t work, even though the fixtures were mandated for all new construction more than a decade ago, and that inhaling fiberglass fibers can lead to cancer. “By and large, new green products work as well if not better than traditional products,” he says.

Myth #4: Green Products are hard to find.
Okay, there is some truth to this one; some green products are not manufactured nationwide and can be hard to purchase in some parts of the country. But the number of green products and systems that are available has grown exponentially over the past few years to the point where there are literally hundreds—if not thousands—of mainstream green products. BuildingGreen Inc. publishes two comprehensive directories (GreenSpec and Green Building Products) with performance data and contact information on just about every green product imaginable.

Myth #5: Green homes are “weird” or “ugly.”
No, you don’t have to build a yurt or geodesic dome and mount huge rows of solar panels to be green. The fact is that many of today’s green homes are virtually indistinguishable from “typical” homes. And if you do want to go with solar power, “There are many ways to integrate PV [photovoltaic] panels that both attractive and effective,” says Wilson.

For more information on green building go to http://www.hgtvpro.com/hpro/nws_ind_nws_trends/

Myth #6: Building a green home is too complicated.
Ron Jones is the owner of Sierra Custom Builders in Placitas, N.M., and a founder and executive editor of Green Builder magazine. In his many talks around the world on green building, he still has to address this myth. “This is a business that is about common sense, and a lot of green building is very fundamental,” he says. “It all begins with a tight building envelope; the rest of it is not very exotic or akin to rocket science.”

Myth #7: To get into green building, you have to sign up for some sort of program or third-party certification.
While programs such as the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED and the American Lung Association’s Healthy House are terrific at garnering exposure and furthering the green movement, builders don’t have to get involved with them to build green. “Those programs are great at supplying templates and roadmaps,” says Jones. “But green building is really about one project at a time and a builder’s and owner’s will to make a better choice.”

Myth #8: It’s an all-or-nothing proposition.
Jones says there is often a tendency to separate construction professionals into two groups: good guys (those who build only green) and bad guys (those who don’t build green at all). “That’s not true,” Jones says. “I bet there are plenty of people employing green technologies and techniques who may not even know it. I’d bet just about any builder or manufacturer in this country is doing something for green building.”

Rob Fanjoy is the former editor of Smart HomeOwner magazine and former senior editor of Professional Builder. He lives in Ypsilanti, Mich., where he is using green techniques and materials to remodel his home.

GreenWave Solutions is an Atlanta LEED painter in two ways.

The coatings that we use are LEED certified, which means that they comply to the VOC guidelines established by the LEED programs. The amount of volatile organic compounds (VOC) that LEED allows varies according to nature of the coating. For instance, for an interior flat paint to be eco-friendly, it must contain fewer than 50g/L of VOCs. On the other hand, shellac-based primers are allowed 550 g/L of VOC.

The other way that GreenWave Solutions is a LEED painter is that we can help a building earn green status. By using an eco-friendly painter like GreenWave Solutions, builders will earn points in coatings section of LEED certification program.

Being Atlanta’s first eco-friendly painter is a lot of responsibility, but GreenWave Solutions is up to the task. We have the knowledge, experience, and vision to LEED Atlanta into the next generation of eco-friendly painting.

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It offers a lot of easy and common sense things that we can all do to help conserve water and preserve water and energy.

I’m not going to lie and pretend like I have been an environmental crusader my entire life. My awareness for the environment has been growing for the past 5 or 6 years. As an avid fisherman, it bothers me that I see garbage our local lakes and rivers. When I say garbage, I mean anything from empty cans to those colorful swirlys on top of the water that is oil or gasoline or something.

What excites me most about being the first paint contractor in Atlanta to be green and the entire green movement is that it is fun. As I encounter local green websites and environmentally conscious business owners, I am very encouraged. I am seeing that the first wave of green business owners are dynamic, intelligent, and committed. Being green is becoming fashsionable and ritzy, like hollywood! Atlanta’s green movement has moved more slowly than the rest of the nation’s, but it is coming. We have a strong “good ol’ boy system” down here that is resistant to change. YEEHAWW!

Dan

LEED is an acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. LEED certification has been the standard for green building and green construction since its conception in 2000. LEED certifications are currently available in eight categories. These catagories are new construction, existing buildings, commercial interiors, core and shell, retail, schools, health care and homes. Another category, for neighborhood developments, is in its testing phase and will be rolled out soon.

The USGBC says that LEED 2009 will be “simpler and more elegant and committed to continuous improvement.” The current LEED certification process has been criticized for being too confusing, too costly, and too illogical. An funny example the article references is installing a bike rack awards 1point towards LEED certification which is the same number of points as installing an expensive energy effiecient HVAC system.

The USGBC promises that LEED 2009 will be more flexible and user friendly. Anne Jackson, an associate at architechture firm Perkins&Will states, “There are a number of ways you can achieve certification, and it’s only hard to achieve if your mindset is traditional construction.”

For more info on LEED certification you can visit www.usgbc.org

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