Mar

How Green Are You?

eco-friendly, green design, green homes, houston interior design, how green are you, Interior Design, LEED, living green

In the world of Interior design, the talk has been whose going green and how green can you be. Every company can contribute to becoming more Eco-friendly, but most companies do not know how or what type of contribution they could make. Being an Interior Designer, Ive decided to offer my knowledge to help companies to become more green. Which is a way to not only save our earth, but to also save the green in your company’s wallet!

Companies already spend a lot of money running and maintaining their business. So why not take advantage of saving costs where you can financially improve your business? Let’s think about the office environment of your employees and the energy that is used daily. A typical office uses at minimum 8 to 10 hours of electricity, and some offices don’t have much control over the usage. So, it’s likely to be used when you’re not even in the office. Of course, you’ll have to get clearance on building codes and requirements for your office, but Solar energy is highly recommended. If you don’t own or have authority to change to solar energy in your building, then share this information with the owner of the property. You would be doing them a favor as well. Energy companies offer incentives for purchasing solar energy equipment and if you share your energy service, your energy will pay for itself and that’s one less bill you have to worry about paying. The Federal Investment Tax Credit (FITC) will give you a 30% tax break and the government will also have incentives.

Another way a company can contribute to saving the earth is by choosing Eco-friendly or recycled materials for furniture, accessories, and don’t forget office products! Now there are so many eco-friendly options and it may be confusing or hard to grasp which ones are best so do some research but look for LEED certification. Everything with LEED certification has been reviewed and approved as a green product by the USBCG (U.S. Green Building Council). www.usgbc.org is where you can find updated information as to what is considered green. For example, raised flooring is a way to conserve energy, reduce maintenance costs, and leaves design options open for future remodel. Many other benefits but this is just to name a few. Some other green options would be utilizing recycled materials such as woods, leathers, ceramic tiles, metals, carpet tiles,etc. Keep this in mind, when purchasing furniture or remodeling your office. You may also want to consider where you can re-use or take your old materials. Carpet tiles are recommended for most businesses, because of the easy low maintenance, noise reduction, and comfortable aesthetics. Be sure when you think of “green”, make sure you think of every material you come in contact with from ceilings to floors. Everything can be recycled or re-used, get creative!