Eco-Friendly Features of BluHomes Gakakan

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.

Each home in BluHomes Gakakan is provided with solar panels with a total capacity of 540 watt-peak. These solar panels, when hit by sunlight, convert the energy into electric energy to be used as electricity inside the home. The homeowner will be able to save 11.4% of his electric consumption.

The roof overhang of BluHomes Gakakan, the extended part of the roof, is 1 meter deep, almost double the conventional. This acts like a cap visor to reduce the direct sunlight that hits the exterior walls of the home so that heat cannot get in. 

The colors of BluHomes Gakakan are beautiful and fresh for the eyes. Beyond that, it also has a purpose. For the exterior paint, we will use very light colors, mostly white, so that when direct sunlight hits it, it will only reflect or bounce back the heat and not penetrate into the home.

This is the same reason why the roof of BluHomes Gakakan are color white, to reflect the heat and lessen the heat that penetrates through the roof and into the home.

Underneath the roof of BluHomes Gakakan, we will be installing 2-inch thick glass wool insulation. This thick insulation will significantly reduce the heat that penetrates the roof into the home.

We can see lots of trees and plants in BluHomes Gakakan. In front of each home, attached to the wall, we will be installing a vertical garden using hanging planters with own irrigation system.

The entire front yard of every home will be planted with frog grass to encourage and inspire the future homeowners to plant on their yard instead of concreting it.

​The sidewalk inside BluHomes Gakakan is not made up of solid concrete. We will be using perforated paver blocks. These are concrete blocks with holes in the middle so we can plant on them.

Windows at BluHomes Gakakan are not the usual sliding windows that are only 50% operable. We will be using casement windows that are 100% operable to maximize natural ventilation inside the homes.

To encourage our homeowners to open their windows and not worry about insects, we will install insect screen in all their operable windows. This will also promote natural ventilation.

The ceiling height inside the home is 2.5 meters high. Based on this ceiling height and based also on the size of the rooms, we computed how big the windows should be to maximize natural ventilation.

We used a passive cooling technique called stack ventilation. The concept is that hot air always rise and cold air always settles down. This is why, in BluHomes Gakakan, we will provide an operable window at the highest portion of the stairs so that these hot air that rise can escape out.

The hottest portion of our house is the attic. This is the space directly below the roof. In BluHomes Gakakan, the ceiling at the roof is provided with holes or vents to allow this trapped air to escape instead of going into the home.

Toilets at BluHomes Gakakan are dual flush and water saver. These are the toilets with a big button and a small button. When you press the big button, it will only consume 6 liters per flush. When you press the small button, it will only consume 3 liters per flush. Not like the other conventional toilets that consumes 8 to 10 liters per flush.

The faucets at BluHomes Gakakan are also water-efficient. We will be using faucets that have a low-flow rate of 6 liters per minute, compared to other ordinary faucets that consume 8 to 10 liters per minute.

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.

Based on the calculation with EDGE, the homeowner will be able to save 44% of his electric consumption. Because of this, the carbon dioxide emission of his home will have a reduction of 0.89 tons of carbon dioxide per year per home. 

​This carbon dioxide reduction is equivalent to planting 15 trees per year per home, according to the Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator of the Energy Protection Agency of the US. (https://www.epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gas-equivalencies-calculator)

Based also on the calculation with EDGE, the homeowner will be able to save 38% of his water consumption. This saves 117 cubic meters of clean water per year per home.

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.

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BluHomes Gakakan are eco-friendly homes in Amparo Caloocan certified by EDGE as a certified green building development. Click here to learn more:

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