Midwest Eco-Design - Your home for eco-friendly construction, remodeling & housing choices including prefrabricated homes, cabins and other sustainable material choices.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) offers resources for their members and the public on green building techniques and other important green issues. They provide a list of 20 questions that you can ask your architect. Their web site (www.aia.org) also offers an architect finder feature. Simply enter your zip code and you can choose from a list of architects in your area and visit their web sites. Ask them what green properties they have completed in your area and, if possible, visit the property to see for yourself.

Think older, historic buildings are “energy hogs” that should be demolished to make room for newer, more energy-efficient buildings? Think again! According to the U.S. Energy Information Agency, buildings constructed before 1920 were actually built tighter than today’s standards, making them more energy-efficient than those built later.

When upgrading or choosing a new heating system, you want a system with a high annual fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE) rating. You can find this information in the product literature. If a salesperson tells you the rating, be sure to verify it by reading the label.

The AFUE is the measure of the amount of heat delivered from your furnace through your house. For example, a furnace with an efficiency rating of 70 percent means that the furnace converts 70 percent of the fuel you supply to heat. What happens to that other 30 percent? It’s lost. The higher the AFUE percentage, the better the efficiency. Good efficiency units today are 85-plus for furnaces and 90-plus for boilers.

According to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), for a material to qualify as “green”, it must:

• Meet or exceed performance requirements.
• Have sufficient, predictable strength, durability, or stability.
• Be resistant to moisture, decay, or biocontamination.
• Be nontoxic or nonhazardous to occupants and installers.
• Be comparable in cost (labor + materials + equipment + other) to traditional materials.
• Be able to be harvested sustainably and installed efficiently.
• Be rapidly renewable or abundant.
• Be a closed-loop material, which means it can be recycled again and again.
• Involve minimal direct/indirect use of nonrenewables.
• Be adaptable, reusable, or recyclable.