Home & Garden...

Sometimes it’s nice to dive deep into a single green home topic. Other times it’s cool to have a nice long list of ideas to work with. Following are 50 features of smart green home design. These ideas for building a green home will get your brain pumping and the creativity flowing. To learn more about each sustainable home design feature, simply click on the link.

• Minimal construction waste
• Minimal site impact
• LEED Residential
• Rainwater catchments
• Building shelf efficiency
• Compact size – or small home design
• Rammed earth
• Solar energy
• Re-Green Guidelines
• Gray water use
• Urban infill site
• Passive solar
• Natural non-toxic finishes
• Masonry heater
• Proper orientation
• Local building material use
• Green roofs
• Permaculture design
• Passive cooling and heating
• Sustainably harvested timber
• Healthy site soil
• Renewable energy use
• Use of salvaged and recycled materials
• Cellulose newspaper insulation
• Earthship
• Use of native plants on site
• Natural ventilation
• Use of drought resistant plants on site
• Earthbags
• Sun tunnels
• Microhydroelectric (pdf)
• Close proximity to services, work, and public transit
• Preserving existing vegetation
• Green Architects
• Site responsive design
• Breathable wall system
• Composting toilet
• Wind power
• Recycled flooring
• Renewable energy production
• Energy saving appliances
• Checklist for a green home
• Energy efficient building envelope
• Radiant heat
• Straw bale construction
• Day lighting strategies
• White roofing
• Cob building
• Solar powered water pump
• Earth floors

If you’re thinking of building green, but aren’t sure where to start, this list should give you plenty of sustainable home ideas to explore. Of course, there are other sustainable building features not covered above, and some features that overlap. Also, no one will integrate all of these options into a single home, but it’s nice to know that so many great green building features exist.