Eco Green virginia MD DC

Eco-Green Construction

Let Legacy construction work with you to save money, energy and the environment!
A green building is designed, built, renovated, operated, or reused in an ecological and resource-efficient manner. Green buildings are designed to meet certain objectives such as protecting health; improving; using energy, water, and other resources more efficiently; and reducing the overall impact to the environment.
A green building may cost more up front, but saves through lower operating costs over the life of the building. The green building approach applies a project life cycle cost analysis for determining the appropriate up-front expenditure.  This analytical method calculates costs over the useful life of the asset.
Some benefits, such as improving health, comfort, productivity, reducing pollution and  landfill waste are not easily quantified. Consequently, they are not adequately considered in cost analysis. For this reason, consider setting aside a small portion of the building budget to cover differential costs associated with less tangible green building benefits or to cover the cost of researching and analyzing green building options.
Even with a tight budget, many green building measures can be incorporated with minimal or zero increased up-front costs and they can yield enormous savings

Energy Efficiency
Legacy can help you reach energy efficiency levels of 40%.
Most homes are built with poor insulation and home heat loss is a daily struggle for not poorly built home. When combating the problems of heat loss, focus on the escape areas. Ceilings,Walls, Windows and Doors.  Let Legacy Construction help you design a well constructed and insulated home.
Here are some helpful strategies:

• Passive design strategies can dramatically affect building energy performance. These measures include building shape and orientation, passive solar design, and the use of natural lighting. 
• Develop strategies to provide natural lighting. Studies have shown that it has a positive impact on productivity and well being.
• Install high-efficiency lighting systems with advanced lighting controls. Include motion sensors tied to dimmable lighting controls. Task lighting reduces general overhead light levels.
• Use a properly sized and energy-efficient heat/cooling system in conjunction with a thermally efficient building shell. Maximize light colors for roofing and wall finish materials; install high R-value wall and ceiling insulation; and use minimal glass on east and west exposures.
• Minimize the electric loads from lighting, equipment, and appliances.
• Consider alternative energy sources such as photovoltaics and fuel cells that are now available in new products and applications. Renewable energy sources provide a great symbol of emerging technologies for the future.
• Computer modeling is an extremely useful tool in optimizing design of electrical and mechanical systems and the building shell.

Materials Efficiency
Legacy with help with making sure the materials used for your construction are eco-friendly:

• Select sustainable construction materials and products by evaluating several characteristics such as reused and recycled content, zero or low off gassing of harmful air emissions, zero or low toxicity, sustainably harvested materials, high recyclability, durability, longevity, and local production.  Such products promote resource conservation and efficiency.  Using recycled-content products also helps develop markets for recycled materials that are being diverted from landfills.
• Use dimensional planning and other material efficiency strategies.  These strategies reduce the amount of building materials needed and cut construction costs.   For example, design rooms on 4-foot multiples to conform to standard-sized wallboard and plywood sheets. 
• Reuse and recycle construction and demolition materials.  For example, using inert demolition materials as a base course for a parking lot keeps materials out of landfills and costs less. 
• Require plans for managing materials through deconstruction, demolition, and construction. 
• Design with adequate space to facilitate recycling collection and to incorporate a solid waste management program that prevents waste generation.

Water Efficiency
Water is a precious resource, let Legacy construction help you conserve.

• Design for dual plumbing to use recycled water for toilet flushing or a gray water system that recovers rainwater or other nonpotable water for site irrigation.
• Minimize wastewater by using ultra low-flush toilets, low-flow shower heads, and other water conserving fixtures.
• Use re-circulating systems for centralized hot water distribution.
• Install point-of-use hot water heating systems for more distant locations.
• Use a water budget approach that schedules irrigation for landscaping.
• Meter the landscape separately from buildings. Use micro-irrigation (which excludes sprinklers and high-pressure sprayers) to supply water in non-turf areas.
• Use state-of-the-art irrigation controllers and self-closing nozzles on hoses.
  

Tank less Water Heaters,
…..also called Instantaneous or Demand Water Heaters, provide hot water only as it is needed. Traditional storage water heaters produce standby, energy losses that costs you additional money and wastes energy.
Why pay to heat water you aren’t using? Tank less Water Heaters heat the water only when you need it.
A tank less water heater can supply an endless amount of hot water and can save energy. However, they are limited in the amount of hot water that can be produced at one time and they are more expensive to purchase than a conventional storage type water heater.
Solar Water Heaters

….can also be a great investment because they offer a virtually cost-free and renewable energy source for one of your home’s top energy-users. Using the sun to heat hot water is a simple technology that has been around for decades.
But because the feasibility and benefits of a solar water heater will vary based on a number of variables, such as where you live, which way your roof is facing, and how many people live in your house, it takes some extra savvy to know what your costs and savings will be. Legacy Construction can help you become savvy.