If you’re considering constructing a new home, consider going green.

A lot of green construction initiatives are out there, which advocate building everything from pre- measured, pre-fabricated parts.

The savings for this are two fold – the first savings is in ease of construction. By building everything from pre-measured parts, you save on labor and assembly. You also save on garbage hauling fees.

The second place where you save is avoiding building waste in your local landfill. Most homes are constructed by bringing raw lumber on site and cutting it to fit over the course of construction.

The same (to a lesser extent) is done with flooring, drywall and siding.

Good green construction techniques use the mantra of "measure twice, cut once" to its logical extreme, and can eliminate construction waste (and the attendant fees) by as much as 80%.

Green construction also ties into how the house is designed as a home and living space, and how it uses energy.

A house can be precisely placed to maximize thermal warming in the winter, and shade placement in the summer.

Similarly, green construction helps with energy bills.

By building the houses out of precisely measured prefabricated components, the insulation effects can be greatly improved – most homes, when it comes to insulation, have the equivalent of two full sized doors open in terms of air flow.

Green construction, done right, solves this problem, and a well insulated home is less expensive to heat in the winter, and cool in the summer.

Proper heating and cooling design/installation methods are a major contributor to good green construction practices.

A more recent trend in green construction is photovoltaic cells as an integral component of construction, rather than as an unsightly add on to the home.

These can reduce utility bills (through net-metering) or provide cash flow to the home owner through an offset-tariff, and will, over the course of 20 years or more, pay off the cost of their investment.

Ultimately, doing a green home means doing a completely green home – you can’t do it part way. It doesn’t mean you have to "give up" the life style – but it does mean an initial investment in planning and a commitment to hold on to the home for a while to recoup your investment.

Fortunately, green homes retain resale value very well.

Green construction is more than energy efficiency.

It also leads to a longer-lasting, healthier home and a better lifestyle.