green term defined

Green Term Defined: Insulated Concrete Form Insulated concrete form (ICF) is a wall building system made of reinforced concrete and most commonly rigid thermal insulation. The forms are stack and have the appropriate amount of steel reinforcing added vertically or horizontally....

Green Term Defined: Thermal Bridging Thermal bridging is one of the biggest problems we have when trying to create a high performance home. It is imperative to find an economical solution for walls that eliminates any thermal bridging from inside to outside the home. Thermal...

Green Term Defined: Linoleum Linoleum is a resilient flooring product that was developed in the 1800’s. It consists of cork flour, linseed oil, oak dust, and jute. Linoleum is durable, renewable, anti-static, and easy to clean.  Linoleum comes in either sheet form o...

Green Term Defined: Net Metering Net Metering is a method of crediting consumers for the electricity that is generated on their home or business in excess of the total electricity that they have used.   Consumers that have solar or wind power on their home or business offset...

Green Term Defined: Carbon Neutral Building Carbon Neutral Building is the process of taking into account measuring, reducing, and offsetting carbon energy used by the building.  A typical carbon neutral building integrates passive design, high performance building envelope,...

Green Term Defined: Fly Ash Fly Ash is a fine, glass like powder recovered from the coal-burning process for the production of electricity. Fly ash can be mixed with lime and water to form a cement like compound similar to Portland cement. Using fly ash in concrete creates a...

Green Term Defined: Cellulose Insulation Cellulose Insulation is a low-thermal-conductivity material use to reduce heat loss and gain from a building. It is also a great noise transmission reduction materials as it is made of cellular materials. There are four major types of...

Green Terms Defined: Grey Water System Wastewater from bathtubs, shower drains, sinks, washing machines, and dishwashers is considered grey water. Grey water can be recycled for irrigation, toilet flushing, and exterior washing uses. This conserves potable water resources....

As our weather patterns change, we have to change the way we think about the built environment. We have seen the challenges the built environment faces from Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy. We have seen it in the flooding in Texas. We have seen the challenges from...

Green Term Defined: Carbon Footprint A Carbon Footprint is a measure of the impact our activities have on the environment in terms of the amount of greenhouse gases we produce. It is measured in units of carbon dioxide. Here is a carbon footprint calculator from the Nature...