Going green with a kitchen remodel is a growing consideration for many homeowners. Why should you consider going green on your kitchen remodel? Well, besides being good for the environment, it can create a healthier environment for you and others, while helping you save money on your utility bills. You may also qualify for some rebates, tax deductions and credits that are available both locally and at the federal level.
Here are some common sense tips for green kitchen remodeling:
Consider using low to VOC free (volatile organic compound) paints and sealants. These materials help make for a healthier house especially for those with respiratory problems. Using regular paint with high VOC’s can take quite a while to cure and months to fully air out your place
Make sure all exterior walls are adequately insulated to help prevent condensation from forming inside the walls that leads to mold & mildew growth. This will also help keep the cold air out during the winter (i.e. frozen pipes & a chilly kitchen). We at SLS Construction prefer using a Closed Cell Foam product for many reasons; however, there are numerous other options available. Two popular “non-toxic insulation” options would be using insulation derived from materials like soybean or cotton.
Look for the EPA’s WaterSense label: The EPA has started a program called WaterSense, which is very similar to the EnergyStar program. While the program currently focuses mostly on bathrooms and exterior watering, in the near future I can envision kitchen faucets & possibly dishwashers being designed and added to the list. One water saving feature would be to install an aerator on the kitchen faucet.
Look for the EnergyStar label: This is one of the biggest area’s that you can save money on your utilities in the kitchen. One main item would be to install energy efficient light fixtures along with CFL’s (Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs)in all your light fixtures. The second major area of savings would be with your appliances. While an EnergyStar appliance may cost more up front, check the Energy Data sheets on each unit – you will generally be saving 20% or more on your utility usage for each appliance. If you have an older refrigerator, you might easily save a $100 or more a year just by replacing it.
Replace your dishwasher with a new more efficient one with an in-line heater installed. The in-line heater allows you to keep your water heater set @ 120 degrees (which helps save energy and prevent scalding), while it heats the incoming water up to 140 degrees to kill all the germs.
Install and use a properly sized range hood that vents outside. A kitchen needs to be vented not only to eliminate the smoke from the occasionally overcooked meal, but also the grease, excess heat and humidity that are generated from cooking.
Replace older windows in your kitchen with a properly installed energy efficient window, or consider adding a Solatube® or similar type of skylight for natural lighting.
Consider the use of an on demand hot water recirculation pump, if the kitchen is located far from the houses hot water heater. This will prevent the waste generated from leaving the water on while you wait for it to heat up.
Are your old cabinets, sink, faucets and appliances in good shape? Consider donating them to an organization like Habitat for Humanity, or selling them to others.
There are many other popular “green” options out there including using recycled products, hardwoods certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, using wood from rapidly renewable sources like cork and bamboo, etc… If you are interested in these area’s make sure you do plenty of research and find a reliable contractor that can turn your dreams and vision into a reality.
Choosing a hot water circulator / on-demand system which allows the owner to adjust the temperature setpoint provides a means for the owner to optimize their system the optimal hot water temperature for their particular comfort standard. Systems which include a solenoid valve will prevent hot water siphoning into the cold water line when homeowners use cold water inside or outside of the home. This link may help some readers better understand what’s being said here.
This is a good start but it is missing a THREE MAJOR components.
1. Properly sized range hood does not mean ‘sized to the recommendation of the stove manufacturer’. Anything over 280cfm is generally not needed. More importantly when you exhaust air at this volume or greater (like the 800 cfm range hoods we see so often) you depressurize the home. This can result in the backdrafting of your heating equipment and bring dangerous flue gas into the home. This is the single most common MISTAKE we see remodelers making. Also consider that you are exhausting conditioned air to the exterior and drawing un-conditioned air into the home. Heated make-up air (almost always required for anything over 300cfm)uses electricity (dirty energy) to temper the make-up air.
Responsible and safe materials. This starts with your cabinetry which should be made from urea-formaldehyde free plywood or mdf, and the doors and frames which should be made from local and or FSC certified wood. The finish should be a water base low-VOC finish which is also more durable than traditional finishes. Cabinets should be made locally if possible to ensure that workers are paid fair wages, are treated fairly, and have safe working conditions.
Lighting. The electrical design of a kitchen can have a dramatic impact on its energy consumption. Separate switching for navigation, task, and general lighting is the first step. Selecting the right light output and direction for the light is the second, and limiting the number of fixtures (Don’t use Recessed lights in a kitchen people.) will further reduce the consumption and improve the function of the space.
Also important to note that WATER SENSE does have ratings for residential faucets. TOTO has an excellent line up of faucets that are WATER SENSE for kitchen and bathroom with flow rates as low as .5gpm (which quite frankly is all you ever need). Can’t find the faucet you want? Buy an aerator and bring the flow down.
Keep in mind when you are installing kitchen faucet aerators that you are installing low flow aerators. Most low flow aerators start at 2.2 gallons per minute flow rates and go as low as .5 gallons per minute. You may want to have a bit higher flow rate for the kitchen vs. bathrooms and you may want to consider swivel head aerators for the kitchen as well.
Going Green with a kitchen remodeling is a good thing to use especially for those who are suffering from respiratory problem and also good for the environment.
Thanks for the information.
Michael,
I’m curious as to your disaproval of recessed lighting in kitchens. I’ve always found recessed lights to be a great option for general lighting in kitchens, particularly kitchens with standard 8 foot ceilings. With the advent of dimmable CFLs and LED trims they also continue to be a good choice for sustainable design. What is your issue with them?
Why Can Lights are no good.
Briefly there are a few good reasons why a recessed light should never find its way into any home ever again.
1. Down lighting makes people look bad. Go stand under a can light and have someone take a photo of you. Looks like you haven’t slept in a week. Yuck.
2. Recessed lighting is inefficient. At 8’ your recessed light will give you a paltry 4-5 square feet of light. Moreover the light will be relatively low; ‘navigation light’ not ‘task light’. What will take you 6-8 can lights to achieve could have been accomplished with two 14 watt bulbs in a semi-flush fixture.
3. It is expensive. How many recessed lights does it take to light a room? If you design the wiring for efficiency you will be placing each 25% segment of the lights on a single switch. (clustered or spread)
4. There are so many better ways to illuminate a space (naturally and artificially) that it seems like a crime to resort to something with such poor function (and aesthetic).
And if those are not good enough.. here are some more reasons why not to install recessed lights.
5. Recessing anything into an exterior plane is just a bad idea. It is bad enough that we have wires running through those spaces, do we really think installing a highly conductive metal sieve makes any kind of sense. (No, there is no such thing as an air tight recessed light. Go ahead and pour some water in one and let me know if any gets out.) While we are at it, tell the low voltage guys to get their hardware out of those planes as well.
6. It is very difficult and expensive to insulate properly around a can light (IC rated or otherwise). In order to legitimately claim you have insulated properly you need to have a continuous value of resistance. That means R-60 at the ceiling, sloping up over the top, and at the top. If you are using a loose product like Cellulose or blown-in fiberglass you have no way to “ramp” 2 feet of material.
7. I have seen far too many basements that are loaded up with 30, 40, 50, 60 recessed lights, all incandescent bulbs, on three or four switches. Consider the wisdom behind installing a series of metal boxes with a heating element inside in a joist-bay, especially in old houses where there is no rim-joist insulation. Am I the only one who is thinks pressurizing a chamber that has only 1 ½” of wood separating it from the exterior is perhaps not the most intelligent of practices.
You have given a very good and a nice information about remolding the kitchen. The information which you have given for the kitchen remolding is beneficial for me also for others who wants to know this. I liked and very much impressed by this.
Fitted kitchen
Keep in mind when you are installing kitchen faucet aerators that you are installing low flow aerators. Most low flow aerators start at 2.2 gallons per minute flow rates and go as low as .5 gallons per minute. You may want to have a bit higher flow rate for the kitchen vs. bathrooms and you may want to consider swivel head aerators for the kitchen as well.
Choosing a hot water circulator / on-demand system which allows the owner to adjust the temperature setpoint provides a means for the owner to optimize their system the optimal hot water temperature for their particular comfort standard. Systems which include a solenoid valve will prevent hot water siphoning into the cold water line when homeowners use cold water inside or outside of the home. This link may help some readers better understand what’s being said here.
Why Can Lights are no good.
Briefly there are a few good reasons why a recessed light should never find its way into any home ever again.
1. Down lighting makes people look bad. Go stand under a can light and have someone take a photo of you. Looks like you haven’t slept in a week. Yuck.
2. Recessed lighting is inefficient. At 8′ your recessed light will give you a paltry 4-5 square feet of light. Moreover the light will be relatively low; ‘navigation light’ not ‘task light’. What will take you 6-8 can lights to achieve could have been accomplished with two 14 watt bulbs in a semi-flush fixture.
3. It is expensive. How many recessed lights does it take to light a room? If you design the wiring for efficiency you will be placing each 25% segment of the lights on a single switch. (clustered or spread)
4. There are so many better ways to illuminate a space (naturally and artificially) that it seems like a crime to resort to something with such poor function (and aesthetic).
And if those are not good enough.. here are some more reasons why not to install recessed lights.
5. Recessing anything into an exterior plane is just a bad idea. It is bad enough that we have wires running through those spaces, do we really think installing a highly conductive metal sieve makes any kind of sense. (No, there is no such thing as an air tight recessed light. Go ahead and pour some water in one and let me know if any gets out.) While we are at it, tell the low voltage guys to get their hardware out of those planes as well.
6. It is very difficult and expensive to insulate properly around a can light (IC rated or otherwise). In order to legitimately claim you have insulated properly you need to have a continuous value of resistance. That means R-60 at the ceiling, sloping up over the top, and at the top. If you are using a loose product like Cellulose or blown-in fiberglass you have no way to “ramp” 2 feet of material.
7. I have seen far too many basements that are loaded up with 30, 40, 50, 60 recessed lights, all incandescent bulbs, on three or four switches. Consider the wisdom behind installing a series of metal boxes with a heating element inside in a joist-bay, especially in old houses where there is no rim-joist insulation. Am I the only one who is thinks pressurizing a chamber that has only 1 ½” of wood separating it from the exterior is perhaps not the most intelligent of practices.
You have given a very good and a nice information about remolding the kitchen. The information which you have given for the kitchen remolding is beneficial for me also for others who wants to know this. I liked and very much impressed by this.
Fitted kitchen
Michael,
I’m curious as to your disaproval of recessed lighting in kitchens. I’ve always found recessed lights to be a great option for general lighting in kitchens, particularly kitchens with standard 8 foot ceilings. With the advent of dimmable CFLs and LED trims they also continue to be a good choice for sustainable design. What is your issue with them?
Going Green with a kitchen remodeling is a good thing to use especially for those who are suffering from respiratory problem and also good for the environment.
Thanks for the information.
This is a good start but it is missing a THREE MAJOR components.
1. Properly sized range hood does not mean ‘sized to the recommendation of the stove manufacturer’. Anything over 280cfm is generally not needed. More importantly when you exhaust air at this volume or greater (like the 800 cfm range hoods we see so often) you depressurize the home. This can result in the backdrafting of your heating equipment and bring dangerous flue gas into the home. This is the single most common MISTAKE we see remodelers making. Also consider that you are exhausting conditioned air to the exterior and drawing un-conditioned air into the home. Heated make-up air (almost always required for anything over 300cfm)uses electricity (dirty energy) to temper the make-up air.
Responsible and safe materials. This starts with your cabinetry which should be made from urea-formaldehyde free plywood or mdf, and the doors and frames which should be made from local and or FSC certified wood. The finish should be a water base low-VOC finish which is also more durable than traditional finishes. Cabinets should be made locally if possible to ensure that workers are paid fair wages, are treated fairly, and have safe working conditions.
Lighting. The electrical design of a kitchen can have a dramatic impact on its energy consumption. Separate switching for navigation, task, and general lighting is the first step. Selecting the right light output and direction for the light is the second, and limiting the number of fixtures (Don’t use Recessed lights in a kitchen people.) will further reduce the consumption and improve the function of the space.
Also important to note that WATER SENSE does have ratings for residential faucets. TOTO has an excellent line up of faucets that are WATER SENSE for kitchen and bathroom with flow rates as low as .5gpm (which quite frankly is all you ever need). Can’t find the faucet you want? Buy an aerator and bring the flow down.