If You’re Building or Remodeling, Make Your Home a Green Building Haven!
We are so lucky now that there is such a huge choice of materials when you are doing anything to your home – either building a brand new home from scratch, or doing some renovations or remodeling. With all these great choices, though, it makes sense to choose items that are green and ecofriendly, so that ultimately you’ll have a safer, more efficient green building.
Green building materials and appliances will all save you money in the long term, and they’ll help to save the planet too. Plus, you’ll be doing your bit to help slow global warming or climate change.
For example, LED lights cost more to buy initially, but save you money in electricity – and by not having to replace them because they last so long. Improving insulation in your home makes it a green building that saves you money on heating and cooling costs.
Below you’ll find a great infographic that shows you how to make your home a green building.
Some of the items – for example, how to orient the building to take advantage of the sun – can only be done if you are building a new home from scratch.
But many others, such as adding solar panels and using a programmable thermostat and energy-efficient appliances, can be done at various stages of renovations, remodeling or home improvement.
I’ve also written some additional notes below the infographic. And of course, if you’re interested in green building, you’ll want some useful tips on green living too, so look at the end of the article and you’ll find a free download which will help you to improve your air quality, simplify and reduce stress, and enjoy life more. Download it now!
Green Building From Scratch
Here are some of the many things you can do to green your building when you’re starting from scratch.
Steal ideas from PassivHaus (aka passive house) – orient your building so you get winter sun but avoid summer heat to reduce your heating and cooling costs. You can also site the building to take advantage of natural breezes. Verandas are gorgeous, but also practical if you live in a warm climate. Consider shutters for your windows – they’re great for retaining heat in winter and keeping it out in summer.
Many homes today are huge – do you really need all that space? Could a better design give you the same amount of living space in a smaller footprint? How often will you use spare bedrooms etc. Think about how you could combine rooms – for example, making space for a laundry in the kitchen, or in a cupboard in the hallway, can save building a separate laundry room.
Take advantage of the wonderful storage ideas utilized in tiny houses. You’ll find you need less space for your “stuff” when you can store it efficiently. A green building is small, efficient and cozy.
Consider putting in a grey water system. Toilets and washing machines do not need potable (drinkable) water, so give them grey water instead – you’ll save money and water.
Capture the rainwater that falls on your house (note: some US States do not permit this) and use it for watering your garden and other gray water requirements.
Plant your garden wisely. Grass is a mono-crop and so it’s not great for beneficial insects, and it needs a lot of water. Consider xeriscaping – use drought-tolerant plants – they look fabulous and are lower maintenance too. Plus you’ll save on the costs of fertilizer, weedkiller and mowing.
Consider buying used materials for floors, tables, walls etc. Reclaimed wood has a beauty all of it own, as well as a much lower carbon footprint. Bamboo is a renewable resource so it’s good too.
And anything that is local is always good as there’s no polluting transport involved.
Kitchen counters are gorgeous in recycled materials and have a lower carbon footprint. Consider recycled glass, aluminium, quartz or wood in all colours!
Be sure to install energy efficient boilers, furnaces and air conditioning. Consider avoiding central aircon, and look to condition only individual rooms instead. Or in fact, if your home is designed according to PassivHaus principles, you may not need aircon at all!
Remodeling or Renovating for Green Building
Even if you have an existing house, it’s quite easy to make changes that can have a big impact on the environment.
Of course, swapping out lights for LEDs is something we all know about. But there’s a lot more.
Insulation is hugely important – a well-insulated home needs much less heating and cooling so you save money over time. (But make sure you still get fresh air into your home).
If you’re buying any new appliances, make sure they are energy efficient. Install low-flow shower heads to save water. If you don’t already have a low-flow toilet, place a brick or a plastic soda bottle filled with water inside the cistern.
If you irrigate your garden, do so at night, when you won’t lose water to evaporation. And of course, use drought-resistant plants – they’re gorgeous!
If you have shutters on your home, use them! They’re wonderful for keeping heat in in winter and heat outside in summer.
You can also use curtains – close them during the day in summer so that rooms don’t gain heat. In winter, close them at night to keep the heat in and make the room cozy.
There are so many things you can do to make your home a gorgeous green building – and best of all, none of them cost the Earth!
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What have you done to make your home more green and ecofriendly? Are you happy with what you’ve done? Let me know in the comments below.
Warm regards,
P.S. Don’t forget to download “Live Well, Live Green” for FREE here!
Related:
[…] The way we build our future homes and buildings, from the choice of building materials to where a building is located can have a major impact on our environment. Simply positioning a house in relation to the sun can have a huge impact – allowing the sun in in cooler and temperate climates, and keeping it out in warmer regions. PassivHaus (passive house) design is a modern take on old-fashioned knowledge of how best to build – see some great ideas here. […]