The Benefits of Green Building
Green building: the practice of increasing the efficiency of buildings and their use of energy, water, and materials, and reducing building impacts on human health and the environment, through better siting, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and removal - the complete building life cycle.
-Wikipedia Encyclopedia
Bigelow Homes was green 30 years ago, well before it was trendy to be environmentally responsible. A pioneer in building environmentally healthy communities, Perry Bigelow is one of the world's leading experts in residential energy conservation. Some of the things we have consistently done to earned the reputation as Chicagoland's Green Builder include:
- Passive solar heating - Most homes are placed on the homesite to maximize south facing windows and minimize east and west windows. This reduces natural gas usage.
- A Bigelow home saves about 3,550 therms of natural gas per year - The burning of that much natural gas produces about 20 tons of pollution in the form of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere each year. This reduces your household carbon footprint significantly.
- Edge slab insulation - The copyrighted detail provides a thermal break and three to five times more insulation. This results in more energy savings and comfort.
- Engineered advanced framing system - Our modern techniques save up to 10% of the lumber used in traditional framing while providing optimum structural strength combined with optimum insulation. In addition fewer trees are used in the construction of our homes.
- Rain Gardens - Colorful native plants that aid in the filtration and retention of rain water before it returns to its ground water sources. It also helps cut back on soil erosion while providing a pleasant look and smell.
- Restored prairie - Our usage of the restored prairie reduces lawn mower pollutants and does not require fertilization that releases toxic chemicals into the air and water.
- Fast growing lumber - Our floor and roof sheathing are produced from fast growing lumber. This is a more efficient use of natural resources.
- Much of our construction waste is recycled - Less waste goes to the landfills. Recycled content in construction materials results in fewer natural resources being used.
- Bigelow Homes Famous Heating Guarantee - You know your home is energy efficient when it is guaranteed for three years. Only Bigelow Homes will make this guarantee.
- Properly sized heating and cooling systems based on computer simulation and analysis - This provides increased overall indoor comfort and air quality.
- Ductwork within thermal envelope - Our ducts are never under the concrete slab where they can grow mold and where they lose heat to the ground/or where they can heat the ground/or where they can increase heating costs by 20%. Our ducts are never in the attic or exterior walls where they can increase heating and cooling costs by 30%.
- Low-E (emissivity) Windows - Reduce short wave infrared radiation. They also reduce fading of upholstery and drapes by 80% while saving energy.
