Better ways to build green this year

With new innovations, green building can be both beautiful and effective. — thodinh/photos.com

With 2014 just getting underway, Green Scene has compiled some of the most exciting sustainable building trends that you can watch for. Some are proven technologies, while others are progressive ideas that we hope to utilize one day. In any event, with the amount of innovation focusing on combatting climate change, there will certainly be lots happening in the building industry in the future.

Greener Ideal posted a selection of last year’s trends that will evolve to serve 2014. The website points out that net-zero energy homes are now a reality and a gold standard. Apparently micro-windmills are now a thing as well. A grain of rice could hold about ten of these miniature wind turbines and they have potential applications in everything from charging cellphones to powering homes. More immediate, however, is the trend of smart home monitoring.

The ‘smart thermostat’ market is now taking off. Smart thermostats can transmit accurate, up-to-date utility data about live energy use via your smartphone. Some say smart thermostats are leading the way to the eco-conscious ‘smart home.’ 2013 was a big year for the technology, mainly because the price of hardware dropped dramatically. Google also snapped up popular smart-stat startup Nest for $3.2 billion, signaling its intent to jumpstart the market with its enormous resources. -Greener Ideal

Green building author Jerry Yudelson publishes a list of megatrends every year. For 2014 he talks about sustainable building becoming more important in refurbishing older buildings and a growing concern over harmful chemicals and green building performance disclosure.

Finally, Bob Vila has a lot of practical suggestions regarding materials for a healthy and sustainable building.

New materials for floors and countertops are getting lots of attention because they truly mimic the look of other solid-surface countertops but are made from more eco-friendly materials. Paperstone, Sqauk Mountain Stone, and Richelite countertops are made of composite materials like post-consumer recycled paper or plastic resins; are monitored to ensure they don’t release harmful levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and are formaldehyde-free yet look like regular, high-end solid surface countertops. Other materials, like reclaimed wood butcher block countertops or glass tile surfaces, are also increasing in popularity. -Bob Vila

Water conservation and solar energy are important to any green building project, and both of these have improved considerably in cost and availability over the past few years. They are now effective, proven tools in a sustainable home. Let’s hope these trends head in the same direction.

What green building trends most interest you?

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