know your terms

greener home definitions

• carbon footprint
  • an indication of our impact on the environment in terms of greenhouse gases. This is figured by primary and secondary footprints. Primary footprints involve our direct emission of CO₂ from the burning of fossil fuels, e.g. home energy use and transportation. Secondary footprints are the indirect CO₂ emissions from the whole lifecycle of the products we use, i.e. from the manufacture of a refrigerator, to its transportation, use, and eventual discarding.
• compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL)
  • flourescent light bulbs that use 75% less energy than a traditional light bulb and designed to replace incandescent lights. Compared to traditional bulbs of the same light output (lumen), CFLs use less energy and have a longer rated life. CFLs can save over $30 in electricity costs over the lamp's lifetime compared to a cheaper incandescent bulb and save 2000 times their own weight in greenhouse gases. Learn more about CFLs at Energy Star
  • Like mercury thermometers, cfl's contain small amounts of mercury. The difference is that it would take 100 CFLs to equal the amount of mercury in one thermometer and this amount was estimated to have dropped by the end of 2007.
  • If you break one you should open a window and leave the room for 15 minutes. Then, wearing disposable gloves, scoop up the pieces using a stiff piece of paper or cardboard and place everything into a sealable plastic bag. Do not use a vacuum cleaner or broom. Wipe down the area with a wet paper towel or disposable wet wipe and put that in the plastic bag. If you have carpet, use sticky tape like duct tape to clean up the area. Put the gloves in the bag and put that into a second sealable plastic bag. Then place all of this outside into the trash for the next pick up. Wash your hands. To learn more read What to Do if a Fluorescent Light Bulb Breaks from the Energy Star website.
• EcoBroker | website
  • a licensed real estate agent who has earned the EcoBroker Certified® Designation by taking additional energy and environmental training. The EcoBroker core curriculum offers innovative energy, environmental, and green strategies and tools for real estate professionals. In order to earn the EcoBroker Designation®, licensed real estate agents must fulfill a straight-forward set of requirements. The most important requirement of EcoBroker Certification is the completion of an energy, environmental, and marketing training program.
  • Currently there are no EcoBrokers in our area. If a realtor in the Mon County area achieves EcoBroker Certification, please let us know and will provide free ad space on our site for the first six months after certification.
• eco-furniture
  • eco-furniture is manufactured with environmentally friendly materials in a sustainable manner. It does not offgas VOCs and therefore contributes to a healthier environment in the home and is more easily recycled. Unfortunately there is no nationally recognized certification to guide the consumer.
• Energy Star | website
  • a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy helping businesses and consumers save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices.
• Forest Stewartship Council (FSC) | website
  • an international organization that promotes responsible stewardship of the world's forests. It sets international standards for responsible forest management and through its trademark provides international recognition to organizations who support the growth of responsible forest management. The FSC product label allows consumers worldwide to recognize products that support the growth of responsible forest management worldwide.
  • FSC approved wood is very difficult to find in the Morgantown area. When adding flooring to our home we call everyone we could think of. I don't believe we found anyone who even knew what it was. We searched the FSC web site and was told to check individual retailers for more information but they did mention Lowe's as a carrier. Calls and visits to Lowe's proved fruitless. Through an accident we found their FSC products: paint stir sticks and wooden doors. At least we'll be buying doors there.
• Green Seal Certification | website
  • Green Seal is an independent non-profit organization dedicated to safeguarding the environment and transforming the marketplace by promoting the manufacture, purchase, and use of environmentally responsible products and services. A Green Seal Certification means that a product has been tested and evaluated for environmental and performance standards.
• greenwash
  • the term used to describe corporation or government practices, products, or services that are advertised to be environmental while in actuality are neutral or harmful. A common practice is to take an existing product and label it green without modification. In general, if more money is spent promoting its greenness than is spent greening the product, it is greenwash. Learn more at the GovPro.com site including how to avoid being fooled by greenwashed products.
• light emitting diode bulbs (LED)
  • Some feel that LED lighting is the wave of the future. They are much greener than incandescent bulbs and last longer than CFLs. Unfortunately their cost is still prohibitive. Despite that, major light manufacturers are going ahead with plans to develop and market their versions. For now LED lighting is still on the horizon for regular lighting for the average homeowner.
• lumen
  • lumen is the measurement of light output for light bulbs. Traditionally, light bulbs have been marketed by watts which is the measurement of power consumption. Choosing light bulbs by lumens is much better than by watts. A 60-watt incandescent bulb provides around 800 lumens while a 13-watt CFL provides 800 lumens but at about 20% of the operating cost.
• Offgas
  • Outgas or Offgas is the process of the vaporizing (or evaporation) of VOCs released from a material. That freshly painted living room, that new car smell, the smell of new carpet are all provided by the offgassing of VOCs. As long as you can smell it and sometimes long after, offgassing is still taking place.
    
• Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) | Learn more at EPA.gov
  • VOCs are emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids. VOCs include a variety of chemicals, some of which may have short- and long-term adverse health effects. Concentrations of many VOCs are consistently higher indoors (up to ten times higher) than outdoors. VOCs are emitted by a wide array of products numbering in the thousands. Examples include: paints and lacquers, paint strippers, cleaning supplies, pesticides, building materials and furnishings, office equipment such as copiers and printers, correction fluids and carbonless copy paper, graphics and craft materials including glues and adhesives, permanent markers, and photographic solutions.
• Xeriscape
  • Xeriscaping is a set of gardening principles that save water while creating a lush and colorful landscape geared to a particular climate. The practice takes into account the local ecology to create a yard that is low maintenance and high in beauty and environmental awareness. One good example of this is the plants you decide to include in your yard. Native plants have evolved to survive well in our climate with no human intervention. Exotics, non-native plants, have not. Planting trees that are native to wetter climates, require much more watering and maintenance. Planting trees that thrive in a different soil make-up than your yard possesses, require more chemical fertilizers. In Mon County, we are blessed with a natural beauty that rivals any other place on earth. You can drastically reduce your effort, water usage, and chemical outlay by choosing plants that fit your yard and our climate. Be green and go native.