The most exciting houses being built today are energy-efficient, sustainable, and thoroughly green. From solar-powered dwellings to homes underground, some of these new houses are entirely "off the grid," generating more power than they actually use. But even if you aren't ready for a radical new house, you can slash your utility bills through energy-efficient remodeling.

Let’s get this out of the way right now.  Renovating is inherently not green.  The best course of action is, of course, not to do anything.  Let the house crumble and slowly disintegrate and return to the earth. But who can do that?

When you remodel a house, you are imposing yourself on the environment in several ways. Green remodeling tries to mitigate those things you do to harm the environment. Here are the main tenets of green remodeling. Follow them and you go a long way towards making sure that your renovations have a lower impact on the environment than with ordinary remodeling methods.

1.  Fix, Repair or Rehabilitate, Rather Than Remove and Replace

This seems to be an almost forgotten art. Remember when dad or grandpa or great-grandpa spent hours in his shop tinkering with an electric wall heater or refurbishing an interior door? Well, maybe not, but people did do these kinds of things in the past! So, the most important thing you can do is to repair or rehabilitate existing materials.

Manufacturers of building products have a vested interest in seeing homeowners demolish existing elements of their house and replacing them with new drywall, plywood, windows, doors, carpeting, floor, and so on. So, unfortunately, you need to fight the tide when it comes to remodeling materials. Suggestions for fixing and repairing include:

• Refinish your bathtub or shower.
• Reface your cabinets instead of replacing.
• Fix your windows instead of buying replacement windows.

2.  Recycle Demolished Building Materials

We recycle aluminum cans and plastic bottles, so why not roof tiles and bricks? That’s the argument, anyway. It hasn’t quite worked out that way, and the practice of recycling building materials has been slow to catch on. If it’s not cost-effective to recycle consumer materials, it’s even less so with building materials. But times are changing.
 

Materials that can be recycled or reused include: 

1. Roof tiles
2. Wood flooring in good shape
3. Wood framing materials 
4. Windows
5. Doors

Many materials cannot be recycled or are “tough sells” when it comes to reuse:

1.  Laminate countertops like Formica.
2. Laminate or vinyl flooring.
3. Drywalling
4. Carpet that shows any kind of use will not find many “reuse” takers. Even good carpeting is a tough sell.

3.  Buy Green Materials

Buying green or eco-friendly building materials means two things: materials which are free of harmful substances, and materials which come from sustainable sources.
 

• Formaldehyde-Free. Formaldehyde is found in many building materials, namely pressed fiberboard (i.e., particleboard, MDF, etc.) and plywood. Look for materials that advertise as being free of formaldehyde, or avoid them entirely.
• Low VOC. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are found in paints, lacquers, and paint strippers. VOCs are basically like “indoor smog.” While the emitted gas is not visible, it is toxic and can have short-term as well as long-term health effects.
• Sustainable Materials. This can include both recycled materials or new materials that come from renewable resources. Plastic decking made from recycled products is an example of the former; bamboo flooring (vs. hardwoods) is an example of the latter. Drywall sucks up an incredible amount of energy during the manufacturing process.

4.  Institute Green Renovating Procedures

Remember what we said at the beginning, about renovating being inherently “not green”? We’re not just talking about building materials; we’re also talking about the actual process of renovating. Spend a day watching new home construction, addition-building, or a major renovation project, and you will see waste galore. Gas-powered generators run all day long (even when they aren’t being used); trucks are continually driving back and forth from the job site to supply houses for more materials; heating and cooling are turned on in additions that have open windows and doors; and on and on. Whether it’s you doing the remodeling or someone else, try to:

Buy materials in bulk	Turn off taps	Avoid the cost of importing

• Buy all building materials in one trip.  Most large hardware stores, as well as many local hardware stores or lumber yards, will deliver large quantities of building materials for a surprisingly low cost. With a little planning, you can have your building materials delivered —instead of you making 50 trips yourself to do the same thing.
• Avoid energy waste. Turn off generators when they are not being used; allow the tile mortar or wall paint to dry naturally without extra heating; etc.
• Avoid wasting water.  Make sure taps and hose pipes are shut off when not in use.
• Use eco building cement.  Green building cement is new on the market – and costs the same as the non-green alternative.

5. Hire a Green Builder

Use a builder who uses environmentally-conscious methods of building.  The Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) offers certification courses for architects and other professionals:  
Greening Existing Buildings and the Green Star SA Accredited Professional Course - the Green Star SA Environmental Rating System for Buildings - Office v1 is currently available.