A visit to Austin one day in the summer has astounded me. A friend proudly introduced to me her "green home". I know I have heard of it, but I have never really set foot in one. From the outside, it looks just like any
ordinary house. But when I walked in and she showed me the technical details of the house, I was amazed.
Green is in. Even in bigger states like Texas, people are now fast becoming aware of the possibility that we can be a little more environmentally helpful by building eco-friendly houses. In many big Texas cities, the business of building green homes is growing. The reason is that there are far more benefits than pitfalls in owning an eco-friendly home.
Standard Home vs. Green Home
How can you tell the difference between an ordinary house and a green home?
My friend showed me that the builders of her house were able to construct a mechanism that saves rainwater and converts it to clean tap so that her family is self-sufficient during drought. She called it the "grey water" storage tank. They were also able to create a home water treatment process that does not use chlorine and filters out elements which the municipal water plants could not. To conserve even more water, this Austin green home has been installed with faucets and showerheads that minimize water waste. Finally, she impressed me with her eco-friendly toilet. It was built in a way that uses less water when flushing, but works just as efficiently as a regular toilet.
Then she toured me around her living room. Her Texas green home, she said, is covered with low VOC interior paint that don't emit toxic material like regular paint does. She explained that the temperature in her house fluctuates nicely according to the weather. When it's cold, the house's walls and ceilings were insulated with foam; thus, it is kept warm. Her hot water tanks was also wrapped with insulation jacket. "I get tax credit since I have a more energy-efficient house." She explained that the green home builders created smart roof ventilation that was able to keep the heat in the house during cold months and let out the heat during summer.
Green is in. Even in bigger states like Texas, people are now fast becoming aware of the possibility that we can be a little more environmentally helpful by building eco-friendly houses. In many big Texas cities, the business of building green homes is growing. The reason is that there are far more benefits than pitfalls in owning an eco-friendly home.
Standard Home vs. Green Home
How can you tell the difference between an ordinary house and a green home?
My friend showed me that the builders of her house were able to construct a mechanism that saves rainwater and converts it to clean tap so that her family is self-sufficient during drought. She called it the "grey water" storage tank. They were also able to create a home water treatment process that does not use chlorine and filters out elements which the municipal water plants could not. To conserve even more water, this Austin green home has been installed with faucets and showerheads that minimize water waste. Finally, she impressed me with her eco-friendly toilet. It was built in a way that uses less water when flushing, but works just as efficiently as a regular toilet.
Then she toured me around her living room. Her Texas green home, she said, is covered with low VOC interior paint that don't emit toxic material like regular paint does. She explained that the temperature in her house fluctuates nicely according to the weather. When it's cold, the house's walls and ceilings were insulated with foam; thus, it is kept warm. Her hot water tanks was also wrapped with insulation jacket. "I get tax credit since I have a more energy-efficient house." She explained that the green home builders created smart roof ventilation that was able to keep the heat in the house during cold months and let out the heat during summer.
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