Going.Green


Before
After

Have you always wanted a Green Home but don’t know where to start?


The Going Green at Home program offers free expert presentations focusing on ways homeowners can reduce energy costs and lessen their impact on the environment. Join the Montgomery County Planning Department at its Going Green at Home Spring series:

GREENSCAPES: DESIGN A HEALTHIER, NATURE-FRIENDLY YARD!
Learn about plant selection, building healthy soil and smart watering
Presenter:
Virginia Fornillo, GreenScape specialist, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
[AIA members: 1.5 hr/HSW LU’s]
Dates:
7 p.m. Wednesday May 21, Kensington Public Library, 4201 Knowles Ave. Kensington
7 p.m. Wednesday June 4, Gaithersburg Library, 18330 Montgomery Village Ave., Gaithersburg

GREEN KITCHENS AND BATHROOMS
Learn about developing good room design, taking advantage of natural lighting, and using recycled materials and resource-conserving appliances.
Presenters:
Jason Holstine, President, Amicus Green Building Center and
Lisa Rigazio, AIA, LEED, AP
[AIA members: 1.5 hr/HSW LU’s]
Dates:
2 p.m. Saturday, June 14, Kensington Park Library, 4201 Knowles Ave., Kensington
7 p.m. Monday, June 30, Gaithersburg Library, 18330 Montgomery Village Ave., Gaithersburg

What is a Green Home?

A green home is designed and built to provide the cleanest most comfortable air quality, furnish the most efficient delivery of energy to lower utility costs, and use the most durable maintenance free materials. Green homes are also friends of the community and easy on the environment. Whether you are building new, adding on, or remodeling, green homes perform at a high level by:

· Protecting and using the site to advantage
· Reducing waste
· Using low-impact materials
· Saving energy
· Minimizing impact on human health

why build and remodel green ?

Building or remodeling green protects the health of your family, provides a comfortable indoor environment, saves you money, and contributes to saving our environment!

for your health

If you have allergies or asthma, using green-building materials will insure the cleanest possible air quality. These materials do not “off-gas” volatile organic compounds responsible for lung disease, because they are made from natural products.

to increase your comfort

Building green helps make your home more uniformly cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Building a new home or addition with a southern orientation and properly placed landscaping captures passive solar warmth and protects against cold winter winds. Green homes have less warm air leakage, because they are sealed and properly insulated for greater comfort year round.

to save money

If you are experiencing high heating and cooling bills, building green will provide economic relief. By designing your home or addition to use the most efficient energy saving products you can cut your utility costs significantly. Some products that help with utility bills are inexpensive and easy to use like a programmable thermostat or energy star appliances while others may take you off the grid entirely, like a new geothermal or photovoltaic system.

to protect the environment

Green buildings reduce, reuse and recycle materials, keeping materials out of our landfills. They use non-toxic natural materials, and help clean the air. Green homes are energy efficient and often don’t depend on fossil fuels that contribute to global warming.