GREEN BUILDING

Energy & Atmosphere

Material Conservation

Sustainable Building

Water Conservation

Indoor Air Quality

Third-Party Raters

Daylighting and Low Energy Fixtures

Daylighting is essentially a design technique that allows more natural light to enter a building in the daytime, thereby reducing the need for artificial light while improving the mental state of the inhabitants of a building. Sunlight causes our skin to produce essential vitamins and has been proven to make humans happier and more productive.

Daylighting can be achieved by adding clerestory windows, strategically placing windows in areas that are apt to need more light, or adding skylights or sun-tunnels. If properly designed, daylighting can also be installed in such a way as to add to passive solar heat gain in a house, thereby reducing both lighting and heating bills.

Low-energy appliances and light bulbs can save large quantities of energy when installed throughout a house. The efficiency of appliances has tripled in the last 25 years, and by shopping for Energy Star® rated appliances, a homeowner can be assured of a product that will have a lower operational cost.

Compact fluorescent and LED light fixtures have greatly improved in recent years to become a viable alternative to incandescent lights. The color temperature of the light produced by these alternative light bulbs is whiter than an incandescent bulb, but has a more natural color than yesterday's fluorescent bulbs. Compact fluorescent bulbs are now dimmable as well, taking the last reason not to use them out of the picture. While compact fluorescent light bulbs have a significantly higher up-front cost, they last longer than incandescent bulbs and use one-fourth the amount of energy. One compact fluorescent bulb saves the energy equivalent of a cross-country round trip in a car over the life of the bulb.

Fluorescent light ballasts contain mercury, so it is important to either recycle them at appropriate locations or buy permanent ballasts with replaceable bulbs.