How to Build a Sustainable Home
Keep these considerations in mind to create an efficient and eco-friendly home.
Building a home provides the opportunity to ensure every last detail is crafted to your liking. Choosing a sustainable build not only eases your conscience, but can be significantly more cost-efficient in the long-term. Here are a few features to opt for if you’ve identified sustainability as one of your priorities.
Minimize Heating Requirements
For prime efficiency and sustainability, your home should use minimal energy for heat, light and electricity. Most often, heating is the largest concern, so if you can minimize your need you could save a lot. Simple design choices like facing windows south and opting for well-insulated windows and doors can decrease your heating and cooling requirements significantly.
Build A Reasonably Sized Home
You don’t have to live in a shoebox, but a smaller house usually means a more efficient one. It requires less excavation, manufacturing and shipment of fewer materials, less space to heat, cool and clean, and fewer taxes to pay! As you weigh the pros and cons of each home plan, leaning toward smaller options can mean savings for your wallet and the planet in the long term.
Build For The Long-term
The size of your family is likely to change throughout your life, and it's best if you can accommodate these shifts in advance. Putting the infrastructure in place to make these changes as seamless as possible will save you the financial and environmental costs of a huge renovation, and ensure less disruption in the future.
Invest in Energy-Efficient Appliances & Electronics
While the cost of buying more sustainable options can seem steep, you’ll significantly cut down on the cost of operating in the long run. Look for appliances that are ENERGY STAR certified. When it comes to lighting, LEDs will save both electricity and money, while keeping your home fresh and breezy in the summer.
Install Efficient Windows
Since windows account for 50% or more of lost energy, it’s worth investing in high-performance windows. For a warmer climate, windows with low solar gain could do the trick. These will ensure less heat is conducted through the windows. Reflective technologies and double-glazing are helpful for this. For a colder climate, use frames that are well-insulated, with the right U-valve - the lower the better. Go the extra mile by triple-glazing your windows and ensuring a tight fit to minimize drafts.
Get Creative With Your Lawn
A luscious, healthy yard can act as a windbreak, keep your home cool and contribute to cleaner air. To keep your personal oasis green and healthy, you’ll need to keep it watered, and drip irrigation is likely the most sustainable option. By using gravity to funnel water to the plants, it focuses on the roots where it’s most-needed. That way, you save electricity by eliminating pumps and diminish waste through evaporation.
If you’re committed to saving even more water, consider swapping out a lawn in favor of local plants that can help your ecosystem of birds and bees without sapping extra resources. You get to choose the details of your dream home inside and out, which means it’s up to you what grows in your yard!
Look Into Renewable Energy
Take the time to determine whether installing solar panels on your new home is right for you. Even if it’s not, many energy providers offer renewable options, generated from natural, replenishing resources like sun, wind and water. Get in touch with your provider and discuss what’s available to you!
Recycle and Reuse Construction Waste
Carefully consider what waste will be sent to landfill and what you could save and re-use or re-purpose. You can sell some materials like bricks, wood and metal, and sometimes even old appliances for scrap.
Feeling a little overwhelmed? With Atmos on your side, you’ll have expert guidance through every step of the home-building process. Get started today!
