Sustainable roofing - Why the colour of your roof matters.
Its common knowledge that dark colours get hotter in the sun. Yet black is such a popular roof colour for new houses now. Read more about this topic here, with comparisons of how much more a dark roofed house will cost to keep cool in summer over a light coloured one. Although the article is about steel roofing, it applies to any roof - the lighter the better.
Embodied energy of building materials
No building has no impact on our environment, we can only try to minimise that impact. When building a 'sustainable' home, you need to weigh up the benefits of certain materials - eg. the lifespan of them as well as the energy that is required to make the materials. You can read more about embodied energy of building materials here.
Passive solar design
Its easier to design your house right (taking into account orientation which affects winter sun entering or the hot afternoon sun in summer getting in). Designing the house right (or simply orienting it right) is cheaper than paying higher energy costs in heating/cooling the house or having to put up with a house that is often too cold or too hot. You can read more about passive solar design here.
