ABOUT DESIGN/BUILD SUSTAINABILITY TEAM CONTACT US SUSTAINABLE ELEMENTS Your project begins… …with your elemental goals. Natural Elements Extreme Climate Using triple glazing instead of double glazing (three instead of two layers of glass in your windows) and increased insulation (R-60) are some prevention techniques to ensure that your home or building stays comfortable and safe in extreme climate. Read More → Natural Elements Collect Rainwater Collecting rainwater for outdoor use is our focus. Besides the environmental benefits of preventing (or lessening) the damages from floods, run-off, and pollution, you can use stored rainwater to water your shrubs, trees, and lawn—even if your community has a water ban during drought conditions, since rainwater falls even in dry times. Read More → Natural Elements Rain-screen Technology Durable buildings deflect rainwater from their walls and allow any surface moisture that accumulates to evaporate as the weather dries out. In our designs, we provide a 1-inch airspace for maximum durability. A rainscreen is the exterior weather-facing surface of an exterior wall detail that stands off from the moisture-resistant surface of the structural backup wall. Read More → Natural Elements Greywater System Greywater includes used water from bathtubs, showers, bathroom wash basins, and water from clothes washing machines and laundry tubs. It does not include wastewater from kitchen sinks, dishwashers, or laundry water from soiled diapers. Greywater is available year round and can provide water for landscaping even during drought times. Read More → Natural Elements Water Savings The use of freshwater ecosystem services — including, but not limited to, water supply — is now well beyond levels that can be sustained even at current demands. Moreover, forecasts consistently suggest that demand for water — our water footprint — will continue to rise in most parts of the world. In the United States, 40% of the waterways have become undrinkable. Residential water use accounts for more than half of the publicly supplied water we use as a nation. Each American uses an average of 100 gallons of water each day, but that number can be a lot lower if you live in a home with Water- Sense labeled fixtures. The good news is, if you’re in the market for a new home, using less water can be easy—especially if your home does it for you. Read More → Natural Elements Snow & Wind Loads Read More → Natural Elements Fire & Earthquake Protection Read More → Natural Elements Health & Wellness Passive Cooling Health & Wellness Sound Attenuation Health & Wellness Indoor Air Quality Health & Wellness Tight Building Envelope Health & Wellness No Off Gassing Health & Wellness Monolithic Washable Interior Surfaces Health & Wellness Healthy & Happy Homes Health & Wellness Materials & Resources Green Building Certifications MATERIALS & RESOURCES One Planet Living MATERIALS & RESOURCES Eco Lumber MATERIALS & RESOURCES Reduce Reuse and Recycle MATERIALS & RESOURCES Renewable Resources MATERIALS & RESOURCES Compost MATERIALS & RESOURCES Living Roof Living roofs regulate the temperature of a building. They gather heat in the day and slowly release it at night, which moderates the temperature of the structure. The soil and plant matter has an additional cooling effect due to the natural evaporative process. The many benefits of living roofs can be accomplished with a very simple design consisting of several roofing layers. MATERIALS & RESOURCES Roof Garden Our roofs can be engineered for heavy loads such as roof gardens. We will look at the needs for your roof garden and do the math. But, eventually, if it is not built to the task it will fail, so if you want a roof garden adding a higher load rated roof is a necessity. MATERIALS & RESOURCES Low Water Landscape A landscape can be designed from the beginning to reduce the amount of resources needed to maintain it and the amount of waste it produces. Every spot around the globe has different resource conditions, such as available water, soil type, temperature ranges, and lighting. MATERIALS & RESOURCES Faster Construction MATERIALS & RESOURCES Durable Materials & Methods MATERIALS & RESOURCES Community Kid & Pet Friendly COMMUNITY COMMUNITY Kitchen & Porches Face Courtyard COMMUNITY COMMUNITY People inside, Cars Outside COMMUNITY COMMUNITY Homes Around a Central Courtyard COMMUNITY COMMUNITY Aging in Place COMMUNITY COMMUNITY Community Garden COMMUNITY COMMUNITY Urban Infill COMMUNITY COMMUNITY Local Labor Whenever possible, we try to source out materials locally and use local labor in building all our homes and classrooms. When production is local, goods don’t need to be transported over long distances using fossil fuels and adding more damage to our already fragile ecosystems. Using local labor strengthens the economy by workers spending the money where they make it, which is highly sustainable. COMMUNITY COMMUNITY Financially Accessible COMMUNITY COMMUNITY Energy Highly Insulated One of the features of all OTechnology buildings is ultra-high insulation. In fact, insulation levels in all of our buildings are almost double that required by the U.S. building code. We also offer a range of insulation levels appropriate for different climates. ENERGY ENERGY Daylighting ENERGY ENERGY Wind Energy ENERGY ENERGY Solar Hot Water The operation of solar hot water systems use a pollution-free form of renewable energy. By using one of these systems, you will be significantly reducing the carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and the other air pollution and wastes created when your utility generates power or you burn fuel to heat your household water. When a solar hot water system replaces an electric water heater, the electricity displaced over 20 years represents more than 50 tons of avoided CO2 emissions alone. Carbon dioxide traps heat in the upper atmosphere, thus contributing to global warming. ENERGY ENERGY Direct Current Electricity ENERGY ENERGY LED Light emitting diode (LED) lighting is highly efficient, using a fraction of the energy of traditional lighting, and with a lifetime many times greater. LED lights are four times more efficient than a regular incandescent light bulb and last 10 times as long. LED lights also use between 50% and 80% less energy than an incandescent bulb. ENERGY ENERGY Solar Electricity Photovoltaic (PV) panels convert solar energy to electricity. This technology both reduces the carbon footprint and can spin the utility meter backward—which can result in utility company credit. Solar energy is a gift from the sun that is continually raining down upon the Earth. It is the power that drives our entire planetary lifecycle. ENERGY ENERGY Home Automation ENERGY ENERGY Battery Back-up ENERGY ENERGY Electric Car Charging An electric car charging station is available and additional solar panels or wind energy can be installed on your OHome or OClass to provide free electricity for any electric or hybrid plug-in vehicle(s). Can you imagine driving your car for the first time without any feelings of guilt or pressure because your car is not only a zero-emission producing electric car, but you aren’t using any fossil fuels to power your car, just the sunlight and the solar electric or wind energy technologies at your own home or school. ENERGY ENERGY Insulated Floors ENERGY ENERGY Energy Star® ENERGY STAR® is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy, helping us all save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices. ENERGY ENERGY Heat Recovery Ventilation Our heat recovery system exhausts stale, moist air and brings in fresh, dry air while recycling the heat from the exhaust stream. This can recover as much as 70% of heating energy otherwise lost to ventilation. We can also re-capture waste heat from the shower drains. A heat/energy recovery ventilator provides a constant supply of tempered, filtered, fresh air. Using this “fresh air” heating and cooling system not only saves space-conditioning costs by “recycling” indoor energy, it also provides excellent indoor air quality and consistent comfort. ENERGY ENERGY No Natural Gas ENERGY ENERGY Net Zero Energy By producing energy and reducing consumption, it is possible to achieve a net-zero electricity state, or even a total net-zero energy bill. A zero energy home combines state-of-the-art, energy-efficient construction and appliances with commercially available renewable energy systems such as solar water heating, wind, and solar electricity. This combination can result in net-zero energy consumption from the utility provider. Zero energy homes can be connected to the utility grid or not; they are designed and constructed to produce as much energy as they consume annually. ENERGY ENERGY Passive Solar Passive Solar is one component to a Passive House system. The Passive House system is a very well insulated, virtually airtight building that is primarily heated by passive solar and internal heat gains from occupants, cooking, bathing, electrical equipment, etc. ENERGY ENERGY Healthy Buildings Design Group, Inc. Healthy Buildings Construction Group, Inc. Healthy Buildings Management Group, Inc. 630 Airpark Road, Suite A Napa, CA 94558 707.676.8999 / Office 707.260.7660 / Fax info@hbusa.net By using this website, you agree to our use of cookies. We use cookies to provide you with a great experience and to help our website run effectively.