If you are in the planning or building stages of your home or villa and and want to be more kind to our Island, take the items on Bunting Construction Companies GOING GREEN CHECKLIST into consideration.  Below are some ideas to consider in your Hilton Head Property: 

• Size: Sometimes bigger is not better. If you really want a sustainable home, choose a smaller size. No matter how many green building elements go into your home, a 5,000-square-foot green home still consumes many more natural resources than a 2,000-square-foot green home. The larger home will also require more heating, air conditioning and lighting.
• Building Design: The home should be situated on its site to bring abundant natural daylight into the interior to reduce lighting requirements and to take advantage of any prevailing breezes. Windows, skylights, and other strategies should be used to bring daylight to the interior of the house.
• Green Building Materials: Use healthy, non-toxic building materials and furnishings, like low- and zero-VOC (volatile organic compound) paints and sealants. A green home uses salvaged materials like kitchen tiles and materials with significant recycled content.Insulation: A non-toxic insulation, derived from materials like soybean or cotton, with a high R (heat resistance) factor in a home’s walls and roof will help prevent cool air leakage in the summer and warm air leakage in the winter.
• Windows and Doors: Use ENERGY STAR® rated windows and doors and they should seal their openings tightly to avoid heat gain in summer and heat loss in winter.
• Energy Efficiency: Use energy-efficient lighting, heating, cooling and water-heating systems. Appliances should have ENERGY STAR® ratings.
• Renewable Energy: The home should generate some of its own energy with technologies like photovoltaic systems.
• Water Efficiency: A green home has a water-conserving irrigation system and water-efficient kitchen and bathroom fixtures. Look for a rainwater collection and storage system, particularly in drier regions where water is increasingly scarce and expensive.
• Indoor Environmental Quality: Natural ventilation (via home orientation, operable windows, fans, wind chimneys and other strategies) should bring plentiful fresh air inside the house. The HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) system should filter all incoming air and vent stale air outside.
• Landscaping: Vine-covered green screens, large canopy trees and other landscaping should shade exterior walls, the driveway, patios and other “hardscape” to minimize heat islands. Yards should be landscaped with drought-tolerant plants rather than water-guzzling plants and grass in most regions.

For more information about going Green, contact:

Lisa Medford
Marketing Director
Bunting Construction Company
843-422-8810
Lisa@BuntingCompany.com
www.BuntingCompany.com