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ACADEMIC LESSON

Designing a Green Home

1 With society’s increasing awareness of the Design Considerations Related to Energy
changing world climate, green homes are Efficiency
becoming more and more popular. A green home Site and orientation
is environmentally friendly and sustainable, which
means that it has a low and eco-friendly impact on 4 A thorough analysis of the building site is
the environment. essential. The location, size, and natural features
of the property need to be considered in the design
2 Green building practices have developed over of the home and its landscaping. Factors include
time and in different parts of the world, particularly views from the property, the slope of the land, the
in Europe, the United States, and Australia. Many of lot’s exposure to the sun at various times of the
the developments have come from scientific studies day and year, the direction of breezes, and the
in the field of sustainable architecture, which location of trees and vegetation. The way a house
focuses on energy and ecological conservation is positioned on a lot can help it make use of these
in building design. Architects and construction natural features.
companies that specialize in green building
construction strive to have their projects certified as Size
meeting rigorous green building standards. 5 A smaller house is more energy-efficient than
a larger one, since it takes less energy to heat and
cool a smaller structure. This means it will be more
environmentally friendly and also will cost less to
maintain over time. In addition, a smaller house is
cheaper to build. It uses less construction material,
and construction charges are usually figured by
the number of square feet or square meters in the
overall structure.

Layout
6 In consultation with the client, the architect
designs the overall layout of the building and the
location of the various rooms. In general, a compact
structure is more energy-efficient than one that is
spread out over a larger area. Most green homes
have an open floor plan, which improves lighting

3 In addition to seeing that a home meets the and ventilation. A factor in the placement of rooms
client’s living needs, is well constructed, and is how much natural light and air can enter them.
has an aesthetic appearance, the architect must The design of the ventilation system, including
keep in mind the aim of limiting the impact on the the placement of ducts for the home’s heating and
environment. The most important aspect of a green cooling system, is also part of the building plan.
home is its energy efficiency, and a primary concern
for the architect in the building design is keeping its
energy consumption as low as possible. The more
the house can use natural sources of heating and
cooling, and the more efficiently the home uses
energy and manages the interior air, the less energy
the home will use.

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