Green Life Smart Life

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Frequently Asked Questions

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Smart Living

Home
Where is the home located?
The Green Life Smart Life home is located in Narragansett, Rhode Island on a one acre parcel of land overlooking Narragansett Bay.

Who are the homeowners?
The homeowners are Kimberly and Joseph Hageman, Rhode Island residents and small business owners. Kimberly owns a boutique PR firm in southern RI specializing in consumer electronics and lifestyle PR and Joseph is a partner in the wine management company eSommelier. Along with their two children, Abigail (5) and Maxwell (2), the Hageman's strive to live an eco-friendly life - buying locally, eating native, building green, working with local craftsman, using chemical free products in their home.

Why did they start the Green Life Smart Life project?
The Hageman family has longed to live on the Rhode Island coast for many years, and when the opportunity finally arose, they wanted to do so in a healthy and environmentally friendly way. Always a believer in shopping organic and locally, the family wanted to build green as they began their new home project to continue promoting a healthy lifestyle for themselves, their children and the environment. For more info on the house, visit our House page.

Green Building
What is green building? A green building is one that is designed to lessen negative impacts on the environment and conserve resources such as energy and water.

What are the benefits?
There are many environmental, economical and health benefits to building green. To learn more about green building, click here.

What is LEED?
LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Homes Rating System is a third-party certification program for the design, construction and operation of high performance green homes through the USGBC (U.S. Green Building Council). For more information, visit our LEED section.

How can I become LEED certified?
To learn more about becoming LEED certified, visit the U.S. Green Building Council at www.usgbc.org.

Green Living
What is ENERGY STAR®? ENERGY STAR is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) which ensure that manufacturers are doing their best to help save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices. To meet ENERGY STAR qualifications, manufacturers must complete rigorous market, engineering and pollution savings analyses as well as input from industry stakeholders.

What can you do to make your home more energy conscious?

Properly Installed Insulation - Insulation is one of the keys to a comfortable, energy-efficient home. Improperly installed insulation can create excessive heat gain during the summer and heat loss in the winter - forcing the heating and cooling system to work overtime. As much as half of the energy used in your home goes to heating and cooling, so by properly installing an insulation barrier, utility bills can be reduced year round.
ENERGY STAR Windows - ENERGY STAR qualified windows and skylights feature advanced technologies such as invisible glass coatings, vacuum-sealed spaces filled with inert gas between the panes, improved framing materials, better weather stripping, and warm edge spacers, all of which reduce undesirable heat gain and loss. Compared to less efficient windows, ENERGY STAR qualified windows help keep homes warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer because they can block 70 percent or more of the solar heat gain in the summer and reflect radiant heat indoors during winter.
Efficient Duct Systems - When ducts are properly sealed and insulated, they deliver conditioned air more effectively to all rooms-helping to ensure a more constant temperature throughout the home. The average homeowner spends more than $600 on space heating and cooling each year. Tightly sealed and well insulated ducts found in ENERGY STAR qualified homes can reduce annual utility bills by $120 or more.
ENERGY STAR Qualified Heating/Cooling Equipment - ENERGY STAR qualified heating equipment can be up to 15 percent more efficient than standard models. ENERGY STAR qualified homes built in the North typically include right-sized ENERGY STAR qualified heating equipment. Central air conditioners with the ENERGY STAR label have a higher Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) than standard models. The higher the SEER, the greater the efficiency. ENERGY STAR qualified central air conditioners are approximately 8 percent more energy efficient than minimum standard equipment. Homeowners living in hot and humid climates can expect to save up to $700 in energy costs over the life of the ENERGY STAR qualified equipment.
Mechanical Ventilation - Without mechanical ventilation to provide fresh air, moisture, odors, and other pollutants can build up inside a home. Mechanical ventilation systems circulate fresh air using ducts and fans, rather than relying on airflow through small holes or cracks in a home's walls, roof, or windows. Indoor air can be many times more polluted than outdoor air, and the average American spends 90 percent of the day inside.
ENERGY STAR Qualified Appliances - Every appliance comes with two price tags: what it costs to take it home and what it costs to operate and maintain it each month. ENERGY STAR qualified appliances incorporate advanced technologies and use 10 to 50 percent less energy than standard appliances. From refrigerators to clothes washers, ENERGY STAR qualified appliances save energy, save money, and help reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants at the source.
ENERGY STAR Qualified Lighting - Choosing more efficient light bulbs or light fixtures can make a big difference on utility bills and for the environment. Replacing the five most frequently used light fixtures in a home with ENERGY STAR qualified lighting can save about $65 each year in energy costs. An ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) uses about 75 percent less energy than a comparable standard incandescent bulb. Replacing a 60-watt incandescent with a 13-watt CFL can save more than $30 in energy costs over the life of the bulb.
High Efficiency Water Heaters - Heating water accounts for approximately 15 percent of a home's energy use. High efficiency water heaters use 10 to 50 percent less energy than standard models, saving homeowners money on their utility bills. Actual energy savings from high efficiency water heaters depend on family size, heater location, and the size and placement of water pipes.
Energy Efficient Landscaping - Energy-efficient landscaping techniques include using local materials, on-site composting and chipping to reduce green waste hauling, using drought resistant plantings in arid areas, as well as using the homes' water runoff to water your plants.
Daylighting - Daylighting involves strategically placing windows and reflective surfaces around the home so that during the day, the home is illuminated by natural light, saving energy and bringing the great outdoors in.

What is FSC certified wood and where can I get it?
Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified and reclaimed wood is wood that has been grown and logged in a certified and well-managed forest. Products bearing the FSC logo are available across the world from a variety of mills, manufacturers and distributors. Many U.S. retailers stock FSC products, including National Lumber, The Home Depot, Lowe's Home Improvement Centers and Kinko's.

How do windows affect the energy efficiency of my home?
ENERGY STAR quality windows and skylights feature advanced technologies which reduce undesirable heat and keep homes warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. In addition, daylighting, a technique used in the Green Life Smart Life project, provides the home with strategically placed windows and reflective surfaces to maximize the amount of natural light illuminating the home and thereby saving energy.

How can I practice water conservation?
Practicing water conservation at home can save you money, as well as help protect the environment. Outdoors, planting drought-resistant plants, using permeable surfaces and harvesting rainwater can cut down on the amount of water used for landscaping. Indoors, installing low-flow appliances and fixtures and energy and water efficient front-loading washing machines can significantly lower your water consumption. Learn more on our Water page.

Why should I use chemical-free products?
We use cleaning products in all areas of our homes and with most being petroleum- and other chemicals-based, we're actually doing more harm than good when we clean. Instead of putting toxins on our surfaces and in the air, greener, chemical-free solutions are now available. Many new cleaning products are non-toxic, biodegradable and made from renewable resources - keeping your carbon footprint low, and your home and family healthier.

Health and Family
What is IAQ? Indoor Air Quality is the assessment of the content of a building's interior air that could affect the health and comfort of the occupants. The IAQ can be contaminated by mold, bacteria, chemicals (such as carbon monoxide and radon) or allergens. Studies have shown that indoor air quality is often more polluted than outdoor air (although with different pollutants) and can be a greater health hazard than the corresponding outdoor setting. Using ventilation to dilute contaminants, filtration throughout the home, central vacuum systems and source control are often primary methods for improving indoor air quality in residential buildings.

Why buy local?
The food we eat and products we use are often grown and made in fewer locations, meaning it has to travel further to reach us. This process is harmful to both the environment and local economies - costing us more in gas and in turn, the cost of goods. By shopping locally, buyers have access to fresher, seasonal produce (often treated with fewer pesticides than those from grocery stores) and can feel good about supporting local businesses. To learn more about shopping locally, visit our local page.

What is organic food?
Organic food, attractive to many proponents of green living, is food that was grown or raised with no or limited use of traditional pesticides, herbicides, and growth hormones. Though organic does not equal green, growing your own organic garden or buying local organic products can be an excellent way to help the environment.

Smart Living
Why build Smart? In today's connected world, incorporating smart technologies seems as much of a given as a refrigerator. Families use home technology to schedule their daily lives, store and manage digital content such as movies and pictures as well as keep them safe with systems like home security.

How does the technology enhance green living?
Contrary to popular belief, building smart often goes hand in hand with building green and efficiently. Advances in energy management, irrigation and climate control and home automation have made it easier than ever to integrate smart technology without contributing to your overall carbon footprint.

What types of SMART components does the home showcase?
The Green Life Smart Life showcases a plethora of smart technologies, including ENERGY STAR rated products such as appliances and multi room audio, lighting control, home automation, HVAC, wine management systems, and energy management technologies. For specific brands, see listings on our sponsors' page.