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The lighter the color of your roof, the more eco-friendly your home is. Why? I will explain to you, here in BluHomes. Try to go out of your home at noon time wearing a black shirt. For sure, you will sweat right away. Now, try to go out wearing a white shirt, much cooler, right? This is the concept of Solar Reflectivity Index (SRI). Solar Reflectivity Index is the measure on how much solar energy is reflected by the color of your roof from 0% to 100%. 0% SRI means that your roof does not reflect any solar energy, meaning it absorbs 100% of it. The lower the SRI, the hotter your home. On the other hand, 100% SRI means that your roof reflects 100% of solar energy and nothing is absorbed. The higher the SRI, the cooler your home. If your roof is color brown, its SRI is 28%. This means that only 28% of solar energy is reflected and 72% is absorbed. That’s why it’s warmer! The SRI of a blue roof is 30% and of a gray roof is 37%. The color of the roof here in BluHomes is reflective white with an SRI of 67%. This means that 67% of solar energy is reflected back to the atmosphere and only 33% is absorbed. This is why it is much cooler here in BluHomes. This is one of the principles of passive cooling.
Because the roof of BluHomes makes the home naturally cooler, use of air conditioners is lessened. This will significantly reduce your consumption of energy since more than 45% of your electric consumption comes from your air conditioners. Where does your electricity come from? Most likely, your electricity may come from a coal-fired power plant that burns fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas. In this burning, it releases greenhouse gases to the atmosphere like carbon dioxide that is the main cause of global warming. In short, every time you use your air conditioner, you release greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Because the roof here in BluHomes is reflective white, your use of air conditioners is reduced, your electric consumption is reduced, and the greenhouse gases that you release to the atmosphere is lessened. That’s why it’s more eco-friendly! I am Paolo Bellosillo of BluHomes, your home where nature smiles.
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 BluHomes™ Gakakan, a name inspired by a native and endangered tree in the Philippines called Gakakan Tree, which is actually planted on the front yard of each home, is an eco-friendly housing project in Caloocan City developed by Aztala Corporation. It is the third development under the BluHomes™, a brand of homes that are eco-friendly.
The roof overhang of BluHomes™ Gakakan is 1 meter deep, almost double the conventional, to provide more shadow and reduce direct sunlight from hitting the external walls. Reflective white colors were used for the façade and roof to reduce heat being absorbed into the home. Under the roof is a 2” thick glass wool insulation to reduce the heat transfer from the roof. Exterior ceiling eaves are fully ventilated to allow the trapped heat inside the attic to escape instead of going into the home.
Operable windows at the highest part of the stairs were provided to allow hot air to escape out, a passive design strategy called stack ventilation. The ceiling height inside is 2.5 meters high and based on that ceiling height and the size of each room, the size of windows is calculated to balance the natural ventilation, natural light, and excess heat from the windows. These passive design strategies were aimed to reduce the energy demand of the home, especially the cooling loads. A 660-watt grid-tied solar panel system was installed to offset some energy generated from burning fossil fuels into clean and renewable energy.  Dual-flush water closets were used in the toilets of BluHomes™ Gakakan with a low-water consumption of 3 liters and 6 liters per flush. Low-flow faucets were used for the lavatory and kitchen sink. Low-flow shower heads were also used.
BluHomes™ Gakakan is composed of 12 eco-friendly homes, each with 2 stories, 3 bedrooms, 2 toilets & baths, 1 car garage, 79sqm floor area and 74.25sqm lot area. Each home is fully-finished complete with tiles, ceilings, partitions and final paint. It is located in Malanting Street, Amparo Village, Barangay 179, Caloocan City. Learn more about BluHomes™ Gakakan by clicking HERE. BluHomes Gakakan is an EDGE-Advanced Green Building Certified eco-friendly housing development in Amparo Village, North Caloocan City where homes are designed to be passively cooled, energy-efficient and water-efficient. Each home is equipped with 660-watt solar panels, wide roof overhang, reflective exterior paint, reflective white roofs with 2” thick glass wool insulation, fully-operable casement windows with insect screens, 2.5-meter high ceilings, attic ventilation, water-efficient toilets & faucets, and perforated pavers with grass at sidewalk. An endangered native and endemic tree called Gakakan is planted on each home to show our love for our native forests. Each home is also provided with green wall with real plants and semi-landscaped front yard.
Each home is estimated to have 44% savings in energy, with a reduction of 0.89 tons of carbon dioxide emission per year per home. Each home is also projected to save 38% of water consumption, saving 117 cubic meters of clean water per year per home. Each home in BluHomes Gakakan is as eco-friendly as planting 15 trees per year. Homes at BluHomes Gakakan has 3 bedrooms, 2 toilets & baths, 1 car garage, 76-79 sqm floor area and 74.25 sqm lot area. Learn more about the eco-friendly homes of BluHomes Gakakan at www.bluhomes.ph/gakakan  Our homes need to be built with nature in mind. This is our belief in BluHomes, a brand of homes that are certified eco-friendly, developed by Aztala Corporation. Upon its inception, Aztala Corporation believes that a business must not be just a profit-generating machine. A business must also push the society forward and make the world better in its own capacity. With this mindset, the company shifted its focus on developing homes that are green and eco-friendly with minimal impact to the natural environment. In October 2018, the name BluHomes was trademarked in the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines as the brand of homes that are green and eco-friendly. BluHomes Maya, Aztala’s second BluHomes development, is a testament to that. It has achieved its EDGE Advanced Certificate with 53% energy savings, 40% water savings, and 74% savings on embodied energy in materials. Each home will be able to save 0.51 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year in its operation because of its green features. That is equivalent to planting 8.3 tree seedlings per year grown for 10 years, according to the Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator of the US Environment Protection Agency website. To achieve this, each home in BluHomes Maya is designed and built using 3 strategies: passive design, energy efficiency and water efficiency. Passive Design StrategiesThe roof overhang of BluHomes Maya is 0.8 meters deep, almost double the conventional, to provide more shadow and reduce direct sunlight from hitting the external walls. Reflective paints were used for the façade and roof to reduce heat being absorbed into the home. Under the roof is a 2” thick glass wool insulation to reduce the heat transfer from the roof. A native tree, endemic to the Philippines, called Gakakan Tree is planted on the front yard of each home in BluHomes Maya to promote our own native forestry. The front yard is semi-landscaped with full grass to encourage the future homeowner to plant on their yard and not to convert it into a concrete garage. Perforated pavers with grass were used for sidewalk inside BluHomes instead of pure concrete. These are all to make the surroundings cooler, provide oxygen to the homeowners, and contribute in lessening the heat island effect. 100% operable casement windows were used, instead of the conventional sliding windows, to maximize the entry of fresh air from the outside. Insect screens were provided to encourage the homeowner to open their windows and not worry about insects coming in. Ceiling height inside BluHomes Maya is 2.5 meters high, and based on that ceiling height and the size of each room, the size of windows were calculated to balance the natural ventilation, natural light, and excess heat from the windows. Exterior ceiling eaves were provided with vents to allow the trapped heat inside the attic to escape instead of penetrating into the home. Energy Efficiency StrategiesAll these passive design strategies will be able to reduce the energy demand, most especially from cooling. To top it off, each home in BluHomes Maya is provided with 540 Watt-peak grid-tied solar panels to provide clean energy to the home. LED light bulbs were used to also reduce the energy demand and to lessen the induced heat brought about by other conventional bulbs. Water Efficiency StrategiesDual-flush water closets were used in the toilets of BluHomes Maya with a low-water consumption of 3 liters and 6 liters per flush for the small button and the big button, respectively. Low-flow faucets with a flow rate of only 6 liters per minute were used for the lavatory and kitchen sink. Low-flow shower heads were also used. These water-saving strategies will be able to save 69 cubic meters of clean water per year per home.
BluHomes Maya is composed of 8 single-attached homes, each with 2 stories, 3 bedrooms, 2 toilets & baths, 1 car garage, 62sqm floor area and 52.5sqm lot area. Each home is fully-finished complete with tiles, ceilings, partitions and final paint. It is located in Kamagong Street, Amparo Village, Barangay 179, North Caloocan City. BluHomes envisions a nation where all homes are green and eco-friendly, powered solely by clean energy. How will we make this happen? By continuous learning, improvement and innovation, we envision future BluHomes developments to achieve zero carbon.  Philippine native trees called Gakakan are planted on each home in BluHomes Maya. These endemic trees, found only in the Philippines, are beautiful because of its large and oblong leaves. These small trees grow only up to 6 meters and their flowers bloom during summer months. Sadly, they are becoming rare in their native habitat and we have to plant more of it. BluHomes Maya are eco-friendly homes certified by EDGE of World Bank as a green building development. It is located in Kamagong Street, Amparo Village, Barangay 179, North Caloocan City, Metro Manila. It is a real estate development of Aztala Corporation in the Philippines. Each home in BluHomes Maya has 3 bedrooms, 2 toilets, 1 car garage, 62 sqm floor area and 52.5 sqm lot area. Each home is designed to be passively cooled, energy-efficient and water-efficient and to be provided with 540 watts solar panels, super-insulated roofs and exterior walls, fully-operable casement windows, and water-saving toilets and faucets. Learn more about the eco-friendly homes of BluHomes Maya at www.bluhomes.ph/maya You may watch the video of these native trees in BluHomes Maya below:  You might think that white roofs are plain and boring, but it is one of the best ways to make your home energy-efficient and eco-friendly. Each color in the rainbow has a specific reaction to heat. Basically, darker colors absorb heat more than light colors. Solar Reflectivity is what green building practitioners call this characteristic. Solar Reflectivity is a numerical value, expressed as a percentage, that indicates how much solar heat is reflected back to the atmosphere. Here are the average Solar Reflectivity of typical roof colors:
Blue & Green – 30% Brown – 34% Grey – 37% Red – 40% White – 70% If your roof is color brown, only 34% of the solar heat is reflected back to the atmosphere and 66% is absorbed by your roof, transmitting the heat into your home. If your roof is color white, 70% is reflected back and only 30% of the heat is absorbed and transmitted into your home. In simple words, white roofs can make your home cooler by reflecting the heat from direct sunlight. Not only will it make you feel comfortable, it can also reduce your use of air-conditioners and lessen your electric bills. Further down the line, the reduction of electricity can also reduce the carbon dioxide being emitted into the atmosphere. This is why the roof at BluHomes is color white – to make the home eco-friendly. More articles about eco-friendly homes:
 BluHomes Gakakan in Amparo, North Caloocan are eco-friendly homes certified by EDGE of World Bank as a green building development. Here are its eco-friendly features. Homes in BluHomes Gakakan are eco-friendly because we used three categories in designing the homes. First, homes here are designed to be naturally cool and comfortable because we used the technique called passive cooling. Second, homes here are energy-efficient and save electricity. Third, homes here are water-efficient and conserve clean water.
BluHomes Gakakan is a certified green building development certified by EDGE or Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies that is a product of World Bank and represented by the Philippine Green Building Initiative. This certification proves that we passed the strict standards and requirements of EDGE in order to acquire a green building certificate.
The benefits of these for the future homeowners will be, first, they are comfortable inside because their homes are naturally ventilated and passively cooled. Second, they will be able to conserve on their electric bills and water consumption. Lastly, and most important of all, their homes can help save the environment.
In this article, we will learn the 3 benefits of our windows in making our homes eco friendly in the Philippines as presented by Paolo Bellosillo of BluHomes.
Which room do you prefer, the one with a small window or big window? Most of us feel much more comfortable in choosing the room with a big window. Not only are windows beneficial for us living inside the home, but are also important in making our homes eco friendly. The 3 benefits of our windows are view, natural ventilation and natural light. 1. ViewHave you seen an airplane that doesn’t have windows? Imagine yourself riding in this type of airplane - scary right? As human beings, it is in our nature to find the connection to the outdoors and to nature. Our windows are our only way for us to see the outside of our homes. It gives us the feeling that we are still connected to nature. If we have a view of the outdoors, we feel that our room is bigger and more open. If we can see the outside from our home through our windows, we feel free, we feel much more calm and comfortable, and we feel more inspired, especially if we see trees and greeneries outside. 2. Natural VentilationImagine yourself inside a house with no windows. Aside from not being able to breathe, it will be very hot inside because there is no natural ventilation. Our windows give us opening for fresh air outside to enter our home for us to breathe and to make it comfortable inside. We discussed natural ventilation in the previous article. You may read the article from this link:  3. Natural LightWe feel happier and lighter if we can see the natural light from the outside. There is already a natural light outside from our sun that is free - why don’t we use it to illuminate our indoors?
When we see natural light inside our homes, it boosts our mood and makes us feel more inspired. It will also be healthier for us because natural light is a good source of Vitamin D and it has health benefits to our eyes. Other than these, we can see some savings in our electricity bills because we will use less artificial lights. These amazing benefits of windows inspire us in BluHomes to make our windows bigger. All rooms inside BluHomes are designed to have a minimum window-to-wall ratio of 20%. For example, if the size of the room is 10 square meters, the size of the window opening is minimum 20% or 2 square meters. The size of the window is proportional to the size of the room. If natural ventilation and natural light are well-promoted in our home, the use of artificial lights and air conditioners will be lessened, energy consumption will be reduced, and in turn pollution and carbon dioxide emission will be reduced, making our home eco friendly. In BluHomes, we believe that we all have a moral obligation to protect our planet for our children and future generations. Our homes must be eco friendly. In this article, we will learn how to maximize natural ventilation to make our homes eco friendly in the Philippines as presented by Paolo Bellosillo of BluHomes. Air is free. However, it is outside our homes. It will enter our homes using natural ventilation. Natural ventilation is the process of supplying air into the home without using any mechanical equipment.
There are three ways to maximize natural ventilation to make your home eco friendly: size of window openings, placement of windows and size of rooms 1. Size of window openingThe bigger the window opening, the better natural ventilation. What is important here is the size of the opening, the part of the window that can be opened. These are the 4 common types of windows being used in the Philippines. Fixed Windows are windows that cannot be opened and are used only for view. These windows do not promote natural ventilation in our homes. Sliding Windows are windows wherein when you open one side, the other side gets closed. When you open the other side, the other side gets closed as well. These windows only have 50% opening and do not really promote natural ventilation. What we need to maximize natural ventilation are Jalousie Windows and Casement Windows. There are windows that, when you open them, have 100% opening to promote natural air to come inside the home. This is the reason why casement windows are used in BluHomes, to maximize natural ventilation inside the home and make it eco friendly. 2. Placement of windowsAnother way to maximize natural ventilation for our homes is how the windows are positioned. These are the 2 common types of natural ventilation for homes: Single-Sided Ventilation is where the windows are placed in only one side of the room. Natural air will still enter the room but you will need bigger window openings. Cross Ventilation is where the windows are placed across each other and is the best for natural ventilation. 3. Size of roomThe third way to maximize natural ventilation in our homes is how big our rooms are. This includes not only the width and length of your room, but the ceiling height as well. The bigger the measurements, the better will air flow inside your home.
In BluHomes, aside from the spacious rooms, the ceiling height is 2.5 meters to promote natural ventilation inside the home. According to EDGE, a certification body that certified BluHomes Maya as a green building, if the size of the room is 10 square meters, the size of the window must be at least 20% of this or 2 square meters to support natural ventilation in the home. This is how BluHomes based the sizes of its window openings. If natural ventilation is well-promoted in our homes, it will be naturally cooler inside. With naturally cooler homes, use of air conditioners is lessened, energy consumption is reduced, and in turn pollution and carbon dioxide emission are reduced, making the home eco friendly. In BluHomes, we believe that we all have a moral obligation to protect our planet for our children and future generations. Our homes must be eco friendly. Learn more about the eco friendly homes of BluHomes at www.bluhomes.ph/ Let's all love nature! Discover how the colors of our home can make it eco-friendly. Notice that when you wear white shirt, you feel cooler. When you wear black shirt, you feel warmer. This is because of the science of colors. Light or what scientists call ‘visible light’ is composed of seven colors, like a rainbow.
For example, if light hits the surface of a blue object, what happens is that the color blue in the said rainbow is reflected and goes to your eyes. That is why you see it as blue in color. The other six colors in the rainbow are absorbed by the object.
If light hits the surface of a white object, all colors of the rainbow are reflected and hit your eyes, and you see it as white in color. The white object does not absorb any light. If light hits the surface of a black object, there is no light that is reflected and no light hits your eyes. That’s why you see it as color black. All the 7 colors of the light is absorbed by the object. And because this visible light moves like a wave or what is called ‘light waves,’ the darker the object, the more light waves are absorbed and thus the hotter the object becomes when hit by light. The same is true for our homes. If your home is painted with dark colors, when light hits it, it absorbs more light waves and more heat. This also applies to your roof if it is painted with dark colors. This is why your home is hotter inside. However, if your home is painted with light colors like BluHomes that is painted mainly with reflective white, it reflects more light waves and no heat is absorbed. The same also applies to your roof when painted with light colors, like the roof of BluHomes that is painted with white. This makes your home cooler inside. Because of the light colors of your exterior walls and roof, it will be naturally cooler inside. And because it is much more comfortable inside, your usage of air conditioners will be reduced, your energy consumption will be lessened, and the pollution and carbon dioxide that your home emits get reduced. Most important of all, it makes your home eco-friendly. In this article, we learned how important the colors of your home is for it to have less impact to the environment. We at BluHomes believe that our homes need to be eco-friendly. Let’s all love nature! |
Eco Friendly Homes
BluHomes are eco-friendly homes certified as green building developments. See the latest eco-friendly developments of BluHomes by clicking here:
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