4 Green Building Materials - Selection and Criteria

By Will Andrews

Green building materials help homeowners save on energy, resulting in tremendous savings on power bills. Apart from increased energy efficiency, home owners also benefit from increased flexibility on count of maintenance costs too. Improved design flexibility is also another reason why people go for green building materials for their homes.

Here are 4 criteria for you to choose green building materials for your homes:

1. Resource efficiency - Resource efficiency can be targeted by making use of the products that meet the below mentioned metrics.

• Natural and renewable - Basically, preference is given to materials that come from sustainable managed resources and are certified by an independent third party body.
• Manufacturing processes' efficiency - The products that are produced with the help of resource and energy efficient process, take precedence in the final choice.
• Local availability - One of the main benefits of using green building materials is that they are and should be locally available.
• Durability - The materials used in constructing such buildings must last longer than other conventional materials used for construction purposes.

2. Improvement in air quality - Products or materials that meet the below mentioned criteria, should be used.

• Non-toxic content - When used, the materials shouldn't emit any toxic wastes, either in solid, liquid or gaseous forms.
• The products should also have minimum emissions of volatile organic compounds. Such materials should be able to maximize or optimize energy efficiency and in the process, should also reduce chemical emissions.
• The products and the materials should be able to resist moisture or any unforeseen moisture attacks.

3. Energy efficiency is an important metric to look out for, which can be fulfilled by selecting building materials that help in the reduction of water consumption in buildings and other associated facilities.

4. The building materials used in green buildings construction should be able to reduce water consumption in buildings.

Constructing green buildings is clearly a good idea for developers and home owners to work with, especially if they wish to save a lot of energy. These buildings will definitely help in conserving energy and improving health and productivity, but that can only be achieved if the right building materials are used. By following the criteria mentioned above, developers could look forward to selecting the right building materials for a green building design.

Will Andrews is a Building Design and Engineering Consultant with more than 10 years of experience in the Building Design and Construction Industry. For more details about any building products information please visit at- Building Products Directory.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Will_Andrews
http://EzineArticles.com/?4-Green-Building-Materials---Selection-and-Criteria&id=4219232