Green home building is very popular in the United States today, but many people do not know that Europeans have been building green homes for decades. We have many technologies that are just emerging in the United States that seem to be new and innovateâ€they are not. Green home building is usually discussed in such a way that people marvel about these new technologies, but they are really only new to us. For example, in Europe, a substance called Autoclave Aerated Concentrate, or AAC for short, has been used in constructing buildings for over two decades. GreenHomeBuilding.com says that this substance is popular in Europe because it is completely fire proof, highly insulating, and very lightweight. It can be easily transported in large quantities, which will conserve fuel. Additionally, AAC is made of water, sand, cement, lime, and aluminum powder. Eighty percent of the AAC is made up of air, which is the main ingredient. The most important benefit is the fact that its production does not produce any byproducts. This material has been used by builders in Germany for almost one hundred years, but was only introduced in the United States in 1996, and it is not yet widely accepted. An additional green home building material that is used widely in Europe but not in the United States is the Wood Fiber Board. This type of board is created from the wood chip waste which is a byproduct of sawmills. According to GreenHomeBuilding.com, these boards are free of allergens and they do not emit any toxins during their manufacture. They are very inexpensive to produce, and they are totally compostable. But, we do not use those very much here in the United States. We prefer cutting more trees, I guess.. It seems as though we prefer not using something we already have, but rather wasting to create new products. Europe is by far more advanced then we are when it comes to green home building practices. People in Europe have been using such construction methods for about a century, so it is nothing new for themâ€it is a way of life. We are in the right mind set to become equal in greenness to Europe, but I just hope it is not too late.
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