Green Design FAQ
What makes a house green?
Green design focuses on energy and health issues. The energy issues are pretty straightforward. First, make your house as small as is comfortable. Super-insulate your walls and make them air-tight. Provide south facing windows with overhangs for sun protection. Choose EnergyStar appliances and lights. Get an efficient mechanical system.
Health issues involve the health of a home’s occupants as well as the health of the planet. Choose materials that are durable and non toxic. When possible choose local materials and recycled (and recyclable) materials. Avoid vinyl.
Does green construction cost more?
Green design almost always costs more up-front, though not a lot more. The Economist magazine says it costs 3-5% more, in our experience it’s more like 10-15% more. One of the reasons to design green is to minimize those up-front costs. As an example, if you super-insulate your house and place your windows to take advantage of passive solar heating, you will be able to significantly reduce the size (and cost) of your mechanical system.
Green products are often more durable than non-green products. You may pay more for them at the time of purchase, but they will last longer and require little maintenance. For instance, a green product we have recently used on several projects is EcoStar roofing. These are rubber roofing shingles that look remarkably like slate. They are made from recycled tires and have a 50 year warranty. They cost about twice as much as an asphalt shingle roof, and last about twice as long. And they cost about half as much as slate.
What is a net-zero house?
A net-zero home is a house that produces all the energy that it consumes.
Is a “net-zero” house the same thing as an “off-the-grid” house?
Not necessarily, thanks to an invention called net-metering. Most green homes in metropolitan areas remain connected to the power grid. They use photovoltaics to produce power, but do not store the power (eliminating the need for expensive batteries). When they produce excess power, they sell that power to the power company. Their electric meter actually runs backward! On cloudy days or high use times, they purchase power from the power company. But at the end of the year, if all works right, the sum is zero.
I don’t live in Washington DC – could I still use Peabody Architects to design my home?
With the growing national concern about global warming and interest in sustainable design, we are being asked to do more work outside of Metropolitan Washington, DC. We relish the opportunity to put our green credentials to work in far-flung places. The key to success in these projects is a good team relationship between the owner, architect and builder. Having a good local builder in place during the design process and building phase is critical.
Our design fees for out of town work are comparable with our design fees for local work. During the design phase, we try to use our travel time for creative thinking and project research. During the construction phase, we are as involved as you want us to be. By working with a good local builder we find we can handle most construction issues by phone and email.
We have worked in Maine, Mississippi, Wisconsin and rural Virginia. To initiate out-of-town work, we ask potential clients to send photos and a project description, including size, budget, and any other critical design issues. We then conduct a phone interview to assess whether there might be a good fit.
How much does construction cost? How much are your fees?
See Construction Costs and Fees in our “being green blog.”