In the modern world it has become real to breathe clean air and enjoy clean water without going to a deserted island or to a dense forest. If you know the top eco-trends and attend leed green associate training, you can build your dream home. Housing built exclusively from environmentally friendly materials is a completely new level of coziness and comfort, which will definitely positively affect the quality of life of all residents. The main principles of green building are:
- minimal impact on the environment;
- the use of natural materials that are safe for human and animal health;
- the use of recycled materials or those that can be recycled;
- rapidly decomposing construction debris;
- energy efficience due to windmills and solar panels on the roof.
Trend #1. Pile Foundation
After choosing a construction site, the construction laborers usually lay the foundation, which is one of the most important parts of the house. The foundation must be strong and reliable. It is believed that the most environmentally friendly foundation is pile. Piles practically do not change the landscape, which means that the environment will not suffer in any way. However, such a foundation is not suitable for all types of soil. The professionals who have done leed green associate training know the peculiarities of soil and can recommend you various solutions. For example, it’s possible to use the pile-grillage option, which is based on concrete with reinforcement, roofing material, sand and extruded polystyrene foam. For some types of soil, just such a foundation will be appropriate, but a monolithic slab is considered a universal solution, which does not depend on the design of the house and the type of soil. In addition, a monolithic slab can withstand very heavy structures and is not afraid of close proximity to groundwater. Fixed formwork deserves special attention as this is still a new technology. For its construction, you can use a mixture of wood chips and cement, polystyrene foam or fiberboard. Advantages of fixed formwork are thermal insulation, moisture resistance, durability.
Trend #2. Walls made of natural materials
The most environmentally friendly materials for building walls are natural wood and clay. A house made of round logs of larch or pine looks beautiful. Advantages of wooden walls include good air circulation, perfectly retained heat indoors, a special microclimate inside the house.
Trend #3. A roof with solar panels
If you imagine an environmentally friendly roof, some kind of straw or reed immediately comes to mind. However, nowadays leed green associate training will provide you with extensive knowledge on how to use more modern materials. The most reliable and durable material is copper (it will protect your home for more than 100 years), but this option is the most expensive. If you still want to find something cheaper, you should choose ceramic tiles. But most importantly, solar panels can be installed on the roof to make your home completely energy autonomous. Thus, your housing will become not only environmentally friendly, absolutely safe for you and the environment, but also energy efficient.
Today construction companies pay considerable attention to the issues of certification of buildings according to the LEED and BREEAM systems accepted all over the world and make their specialists regularly attend leed green associate training to keep up with the new trends.
There is a myth that the materials and technologies required for a project to be recognized as “green” and subsequent certification make the project unreasonably expensive. Today, a “green” building should also be economically viable because too high construction and operation costs are contrary to the principles of sustainable development.