Barry Law Environmental and Earth Law Journal

Homebuilding companies are constructing more sustainable homes each and every year. For a good reason, might I add! It’s no secret that homes use a lot of energy. Power plants are the source that generate electricity to power the homes we live in. [1] The fossil fuel natural gas generates about 40% of the United States’ electricity, making it our largest source. [2] In order to stop the depletion of the Earth’s natural resources and protect ecosystems from destruction, we must stop generating electricity from natural gas, nuclear, and coal, and turn to exclusively renewable energy sources. [3] This article will provide insight of the many ways in which current residential homes are being built more sustainably from inception to deliverance in the improving of the production of home building raw materials, progressing and protecting the environment in community planning and development, and implementing the most advanced technologies in the homes constructed.

Homebuilders have made significant strides in reducing the environmental footprint of their operations and supply chain in their production of home building raw materials. In their efforts on waste reduction, homebuilders have reduced their scrap rates by replacing manual labor with automated, intelligent machinery. [4] For example, the home builder Toll Brothers, known for being the leader in the building of new construction luxury homes in the United States, in their production of home building raw materials have recycled 79,932 tons of waste instead of placing them in landfills. [5] Toll Brothers also reuses or recycles at least 65% of demolished construction material, such as concrete and lumber. [6] Lumber reduction and production has been at the top of many home builders’ agenda in their efforts to become more sustainable. Homebuilders are not only reducing the amount of lumber in each home they build, yet they are also using sustainable wood products, such as engineered wood products like laminated veneer lumber beams, when possible. [7] Lastly, home builders are consistently finding ways to use fewer materials when building homes, that travel shorter distances, in order to reduce the emissions that are thrust into our environment.

Homebuilders are taking many measures to protect and add beneficial aspects to the environment of new home site land development and community planning. In their environmental preservation efforts, homebuilders are designing their communities to protect sensitive environmental site features, site surroundings, animal habitats, and animal migration patterns. [8]They are placing each home on lots that are very similar to their natural state and concentrate on changing the natural land as little as possible. Not only are homebuilders striving for excellence in protecting the environment, but they are also progressing the environment along by adding many great aspects. To create an active lifestyle for the residents that live in their communities, they have created dedicated bicycling, hiking, and walking paths in order to preserve the natural state of the landscape from being damaged by bicycles or foot traffic. The homebuilder Toll Brothers has not only added the pathways as described above, yet they have also planted over 3.8 million trees that have been growing strong for at least ten years on the properties they have built. [9]

Homebuilders are engineering new features and technology in the homes they build in their goal of becoming an infamous “smart home.” New homes are becoming so environmentally advantageous that Toll Brothers predicts their new homes built in California will reduce energy demands from the electric grid by over 50% and avoid 235,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually. [10] The preeminent home engineering features and technology to follow are the solar roof, home temperature control, and energy usage. Solar panels on the roofs of homes have been around for a while now. However, the solar roof is a new technology that very few houses have. These solar roofs look extremely similar to a typical roof, yet have the same functionality as solar panels. The solar roof can power an entire home, and therefore the house can be powered by 100% renewable energy. [11]The key in reducing the amount of air conditioning or heating a home requires is to optimize the home’s temperature control. For example, Toll Brothers achieves its 50% energy demand reduction by temperature control through smart thermostats, low emittance windows, and the reduction of leakage of air condition and heat, by higher quality insulation and installation techniques. [12] Lastly, home builders are minimizing the energy usage of each new home they build by efficient lighting, such as that of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and compact fluorescent lighting (CFLs), coupled with the usage of state of the art appliances that save water and electricity. [13] The culmination of these features and technologies homebuilders are implementing into new homes greatly reduce the home’s impact on the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption, and reliance on fossil fuels.

Homebuilders are consistently refining and redefining the homes they build to be more sustainable to the environment and the Earth. Homebuilders are achieving this by minimizing waste and improving efficiency in their production of home building raw materials, progressing and protecting the environment in their community planning and land development, and implementing the most advanced technologies and engineering features in the homes they construct. Our purpose is to leave as little of a digital footprint and minimize the destruction of the environment and the Earth so that it can be enjoyed by endless generations to come.

Written by Justin Dierken, EELJ Associate Editor