Give it some thought: Sustainable housing design is attainable for all of us

I’ve been trying to promote sustainable design for decades. In addition to helping to protect the environment, it is practical and likely to save money for homeowners. Here are some suggestions for Northwest Corner residents applicable to individual single family homes, multi-unit housing projects, and most other buildings.

It usually is more economical and better for the environment to re-use an existing building than to build a new one (assuming a suitable candidate can be found).

Build only what is needed, no more. Often, single family homes are designed for imaginary needs and are too large for their occupants. Careful planning at the outset is key and can save a lot of money. Huddle with your architect.

For multi-unit housing, cluster planning looks at the whole site as one. In such a scheme, individual lot sizes are often smaller with some of the land pooled for common purpose. Usually this results in less pavement (roads and parking) and more natural landscape and common facilities (such as a pool or playground). 

Where several units are called for, preference should be given to attached housing over detached single family residences. Attached housing tends to cost less per square foot, uses land more frugally and has less environmental impact.

It used to be understood that public housing was better built than most spec-built housing. That’s because builders of spec-built houses had little or no continuing responsibility for the property once the units had been sold, whereas developers whose ownership continued had to maintain what they had done. This idea applies to new housing today.

Although most clients are primarily concerned about first costs, lifetime cost assessment (LCA) is a better gauge of an owner’s liabilities over the long term. By spending more on the building envelope, it might be possible to spend less on heating and cooling equipment and less on electricity and fuel. Thoroughly insulating a house might add significantly to the initial expense but the savings in heating costs might pay back the extra first cost within a few years and continue to save the owner money over the lifetime of the house. A hardwood floor might turn out to be less expensive than a plywood one topped with carpet, which needs to be replaced after several years. 

Energy use should be considerably reduced from what is common today. New construction ought to be designed, as much as possible, with passive heating and cooling. Consideration should be given to alternative energy sources such as wind turbines, solar hot water and electric panels, and geothermal heat pumps, all of which are becoming more commonplace and less expensive. While costs for solar heating and electricity have been going down, oil and gas will continue to become more expensive.  A whole house solar and/or geothermal heating system might be more costly to install than an electric one, but after only a few seasons of much lower electric bills, the more environmentally friendly systems would start saving the owner money.

All buildings that people inhabit for a substantial amount of time should have excellent indoor air quality. This requires good natural and mechanical ventilation, effective moisture control, and avoidance of toxic materials and substances. (This would include most “air fresheners,” no-iron fabric upholstery, applied sealers, chemical based cleaners and most plastics.) Heat recovery ventilators capture heat from air being exhausted, thus improving winter indoor air quality while saving money. Newly built sustainably designed houses are comfortable without air conditioning for all but a prolonged summer heat spell of over 90 degrees.

Money can be saved and more “character” obtained by using local, salvaged and recycled materials where appropriate, such as locally grown or used lumber, used brick, low-cement concrete and second hand furniture. A deck or siding made of domestically grown, sustainably harvested, weather resistant wood such as black locust doesn’t cost much more than a cheaper one treated with toxic chemicals, but it will last longer and look nicer. 

A more sustainable design of the surrounding landscape offers better performance and a more natural look. Managing stormwater effectively on site, not just dumping it into the nearest storm sewer, can provide water for nearby plants while saving on municipal water bills. Use trees and shrubs for improving the local microclimate (such as evergreen windbreaks, summer shading of both house and grounds with deciduous trees).  

Beautiful residential landscapes are possible without expansive, manicured lawns. Grass is the ground cover with the lowest first expense, but lawn care costs quickly add up: water, fertilizer, pesticide and especially mowing (with polluting mowers). Owners should consider how much lawn area they really need and, where lawn is not necessary, choose either other lower maintenance ground covers or going wild. 

Architect and landscape designer Mac Gordon lives in Lakeville.