Painting & Drywall (Eco-Friendly)

When you reduce energy consumption in your home you seal it tightly against air loss. Sealing in warm or cool air reduces energy use by blocking the infiltration of exterior air — also known as “fresh” air.  Now, you need to consider potential sources of indoor air pollution.

Indoor air pollution is normally caused by the out-gassing of materials such as carpets, furniture, paint and drywall.  Most out-gassing occurs when the products are new; existing home need only worry about new materials that are brought into the home. But if you are building a new home or renovating a existing home, consider using “green” paint and drywall.

Green paint” comes in all colors.  Paint not only adds pizazz to your home and protects your walls, it can make your  home more energy efficient. Everyone knows that certain colors can make a room feel warmer or cooler, but newer paints can help insulate and seal walls, block or reflect unwanted heat, or efficiently reflect light into dark corners, reducing energy consumption.

Green drywall — not to be confused with green board (or greenboard) which is regular gypsum drywall with a special water-resistant coating for use in high humidity areas — is environmentally friendly in two ways: 1)  Manufacturing regular gypsum drywall requires the product to be heated releasing CO2 to the atmosphere; and  2) Regular gypsum drywall produces volatile organic compounds (VOC) like the ones found in paint, so the product can be bad for your health as well as bad for the environment.

And then there is your health…

At EDGE Energy, we only use paint with low or zero levels of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) to keep your home healthy and environmentally friendly. VOCs are emitted from traditional paint as it dries; they cause that “new paint” smell.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), VOCs include a variety of chemicals, some of which may have short- and/or long-term adverse health effects. Common reactions to VOCs include headaches, dizziness, and fatigue. The EPA has stated that some VOCs can cause cancer in animals, and some are suspected or known to also cause cancer in humans.

Low- or no-VOC paint will make your house look great without health risks.   No-VOC paint has no new paint smell at all, and low-VOC paint has just a slight odor. (Dark paint colors are only available as low-VOC paint.) “Green” paint is applied just like regular paint, but choosing the right paint to maximize energy efficiency requires training an experience.

Contact the interior specialists at Edge Energy to evaluate the possibility of using environmentally friendly dry wall and energy efficient paint for your construction project.