GoingGreenFAQ.com

Green Housing in San Diego

The push towards green housing has taken off in the last few years, but what is a green home? There are 4 major topics I want to discuss in what makes a green home: sustainability, energy efficiency, healthy environment, and carbon footprint. Learn more about green housing here.

The concept of sustainability is at the forefront of what makes a green home. It’s a simple idea: capable of being continued with minimal long-term effect on the environment. For example, instead of putting in hard wood floors made from trees in old growth forests that would take hundreds of years to repopulate, try using bamboo floors (bamboo, a grass, grows so quickly that it is easily replenished) or cork (made from bark harvested every 9 years).

Minimizing energy usage is a huge part of going green. Using energy efficient appliances is a great option when replacing appliances. Start with basics like replacing incandescent light bulbs with more efficient fluorescents or halogen lighting. Build solar tubes in your home to bring in more natural light so that you don’t need light bulbs at all! Use appliances in off-peak hours. Remember that most of our electricity currently comes from the burning of fossil fuels that are not renewable.

A healthy environment is a green environment. We must be careful of off-gassing that can happen with paints and other materials used in home construction or remodels. We must make sure to have proper air circulation and filtration. Use washable air filters in forced air units. Make sure your home and ducts are properly insulated. Buy an air purifier to increase air quality.

You’ve heard “carbon footprint” I’m sure, but do you think about it in your home and with the products you buy? For example, it is always best to buy local foods (and other products) from the grocery store because they have travelled less distance (used less gas) to get here. Inquire about the production practices of the companies that you buy from - ensure that they are not polluting our earth to bring you the products you are using.

You can make a difference - do it little by little, day by day and you will be surprised where you’ll end up in 10 years. With continual effort, you will create change and a better world. If you are a local and are interested in San Diego green homes for sale, I welcome you to contact me.

San Diego Realtor Adam Pascu asks you to visit his San Diego green housing site for in-depth information on a variety of living green topics.