Unit 1 Housing—Human Factors and Infl uences
90
Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
The future of the environment depends on how
people use and protect natural resources. The term
sustainability describes the interaction between people
and their living environments. This chapter describes
sustainability and shows ways that design professionals
can and should promote and use sustainable design
principles in creating housing and interior spaces.
Defi ning Sustainability
and Sustainable Design
Sustainability is a term that describes human
interaction with the resources in the earth’s
environment. These resources include the air,
water, forests, and other materials. Humans use
natural resources in creating and designing housing
structures and living spaces. They not only use
natural resources to build and furnish living spaces,
but also to operate structures in heating and cooling
spaces as well as heating water.
The idea of sustainability is that people today
should responsibly use natural resources to meet
their needs in a way that does not affect the ability
of people in the next generation to also meet
their needs. With sustainability, there is also the
expectation of no negative impact on the people,
communities, or environment.
Sustainable design refers to incorporating
sustainability in the built environment. Sustainable
design focuses on the responsible
• use of materials for building and furnishing interiors
• operation of living spaces
• practices in the manufacture of materials and
production of buildings
Sustainable design is important because buildings
and their interiors have a powerful impact on the
environment of the earth. Buildings of all types account
for over 40 percent of energy use worldwide. According
to the U.S. Energy Information Administration in
2014, 41 percent of U.S. energy consumption was for
residential and commercial buildings.
Designers and all professionals in the building
industry can have a powerful impact on maintaining
the environment. They do this by designing buildings
and selecting all materials and systems based on the
principles of sustainable design.
*UHHQ
Eco-Friendly Labeling and Certifi cation Programs
Many guides assist consumers or professionals in
making decisions in finding green housing solutions.
When selecting a new house or products for the home,
choose an eco-friendly program to guide your choices.
Each of these programs certifies/labels green
components in different ways and some are
highlighted in Green Choices features throughout
this textbook. Programs that certify or label green
housing and products include
• ENERGY
STAR®—Identifies
products and
structures that use at least 30 percent less
energy than the standard products and structures
(Environmental Protection Agency and U.S.
Department of Energy)
• Energy Guide
Label—Relates
the approximate
energy consumption and utility cost of operating
the products and is required on all ENERGY
STAR products (U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency and U.S. Department of Energy)
• LEED Rating
System—Certifies
structures that
have overall sustainable features (U.S. Green
Building Council—USGBC)
• Forest Stewardship Council
(FSC)—Sets
standards for responsible forest management;
works with FSC-accredited certifiers to identify
companies that follow sustainable practices in
wood harvesting and manufacturing
• WaterSense®
Label—Identifies
products that
use less water; manufacturers have partnership
agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency and have products certified through an
EPA-licensed certifying body
• Sustainable Furnishings
Council—Tags
furniture that was manufactured using sustainable
practices; promotes sustainable practices among
furniture manufacturers
•
REGREEN—Provides
guidelines for incorporating
green in remodeling projects (partnership
between ASID and USGBC)
• Carpet and Rug Institute
(CRI)—Verifies
that
products (carpet, adhesives, and cushions) have
low-emission of VOCs (Indoor Air Quality testing)