If you're delving into the real estate market, whether for a fancy vacation home or your first place to call your own, your new construction project could benefit from a practice known as "green building". Green building, or sustainable building as it is alternately called, is not so much a thorough methodology as it is a building philosophy. It maintains that any structure, residential, commercial, government office, or industrial, functions best when it is built in a manner that does not harm the environment. Oftentimes, this means the use of recycled products in building materials, as well as alternative sources of energy for heating and cooling the property. The following are a few of the benefits that come from using green building techniques on your new construction project.

The most obvious benefit that comes from green building is the low environmental impact. The fact of the matter is that any building is going to give off some degree of pollution, even indirectly, as in the case of energy usage. Green building techniques seek to reduce the impact of that pollution, either by reducing the amount of pollution released by the structure, or by offsetting it with trees, shrubberies, and other oxygen-releasing plant life.

According to a 2009 Environmental Protection Agency Report, the average American household spends $2,000 a year on its energy bills, with more than 50% of that money going towards the cost of heating the property in the winter and cooling it off in the summer. An energy-saving device like solar panels may seem like a burdensome expense at first, but it's really a long-term investment. By taking advantage of natural energy sources for your new construction project, you will experience monetary benefits for a long period of time afterward.

Doing right by the environment not only benefits the planet, but it makes you feel good personally as well. Though it may not seem like the most important benefit to come as a consequence of green building, it's the benefit that you will experience the most directly. As a bonus, many green building techniques involve the incorporation of local plant life into the structure, whether it's rooftop grass beds or a rain garden, which greatly increases the aesthetic appeal of your home. Overall, you will be left with the feeling of not only having done good, but also knowing that your home is looking good as result.

As with any new construction project, the planning stages will take a serious commitment of time and mental energy, and there are many factors that both you and the builders must work out together. However, if your priorities include long-term cost and pleasant aesthetics, green building might be a solution worth looking into. By cutting down on waste and increasing the visibility of local plant life, you will be doing both yourself and the planet a huge favor.