Many homeowners should know that renovating your existing home to make it more energy efficient is more environmentally beneficial than demolishing an existing structure and building a more energy-efficient one, that’s according to a new report by the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Preservation Green Lab. The report states that “ renovating an existing structure is more environmentally beneficial because it takes between 10 and 80 years for the benefits of a new energy-efficient building to compensate for the carbon emissions incurred during its construction.” – ecohomemagazine.com

 

The report, which is called “The Greenest Building: Quantifying the Environmental Value of Building Reuse,” basically uses a life cycle analysis (LCA) methodology in order to compare the environmental effects of renovation, demolition and new construction on six building typologies in Atlanta, Chicago, Phoenix, and Portland, Ore. over a 75-year period.

The typologies were single-family homes, multifamily complexes, commercial offices, “urban village” mixed-use structures, and elementary schools. All of which the report found “is nearly always greener in terms of ecosystem quality, human health, resources depletion, and climate change, to let an existing structure stand.”

For more information on the article read “Report Shows Environmental Benefits of Retrofits”. Interested in energy efficient renovations for your Kansas City area home? Contact Quality Home Concepts at 888-808-3249.

 

Photo via diy-home-tips.com