Eco-friendly design ideas to build your dream home – words Alexa Wang
Green homes and eco-friendly living has come a long way in the last couple of decades and they have finally moved from the idea of alternative living to the mainstream. Individual homeowners, home building companies and governments are all now taking this task more seriously so the idea of preserving the environment and lowering the carbon footprint has climbed to the top of everyone’s priorities.
The cost of building an eco-friendly home has gone significantly down due to the development of technologies and materials and increased builder experience. It’s also good news that you don’t necessarily need to go off the grid to be eco-friendly.
With a wide range of options that can improve the quality of your home, reduce energy consumption, protect your health and the environment and lower your impact, you can easily start planning the construction of your eco-friendly home.
Here are some green home building ideas to consider for your dream home.
Build smaller
A smaller home will always be more environmentally friendly than a large one with all its energy-efficient technologies simply because it will have a lower impact. However, this doesn’t mean you have to build a tiny home. You just need to be creative and resourceful in using the building and design principles and build both smaller and smarter.
Smaller homes have a lower impact, reduced costs and maintenance and are more efficient because their square footage and layout are more compact, practical and functional than big, traditional homes. They do require more thought and planning, but if you build them around your green lifestyle, the result will be more functional and cost-effective.
Use sustainable materials and methods
By using sustainable building materials throughout your home construction, you can significantly reduce your impact on the environment. For instance, when you choose your flooring, go with wood, bamboo, cork or linoleum and with the producer who follows sustainable practices. These materials are natural and renewable and will provide you with eco-friendly flooring with a long lifespan, including the ability to be recycled in future if you decide to replace them.
In addition, some construction methods are inherently sustainable, such as modular or pre-fabricated homes. Their production process saves on material, labour and waste, so the impact is very low. Clearly, choosing the best way to go when it comes to building your dream home can be hard as everyone has different needs and priorities. This is why many future homeowners in Australia prefer building companies that offer a higher level of customer approach and more personalized service, such as the reputable project home builders in Sydney who make sure you receive the best quality product at affordable prices.
Go solar
Solar power is the ultimate clean, sustainable and low-cost energy. When you design your new home, you’re given a unique opportunity to include solar power in a way that older homes owners cannot. Having solar power as an integral part of your new home, you can fully take advantage of light, positioning and location to get the most efficiency and energy for your investment.
In combination with other green building ideas, solar power can give you enough energy can generate enough energy to sell some back to your utility company as they are required by law to purchase any excess energy from home solar systems. In addition, there are various government grants, tax breaks and other incentives that can make solar power instalment a much easier project.
Insulate your home
One thing you should seriously consider is investing in high-quality insulation. This will help in reducing the cost of heating in the winter and cooling in the summer so it will automatically lower your environmental impact. There are now many different eco-friendly insulation materials you can choose from, such as cotton or sheep wool and when combined with double-glazed thermal glass in your windows, you will definitely prevent any energy loss, regardless of the season.
Save water
Reducing your water and electricity consumption is one of the best things you can do to contribute to environmental protection. Consider installing water-saving fixtures such as low-flow faucet aerators, low-flow toilets, tankless heaters and energy-saving appliances. To take matters further, you could consider rainwater collecting which can be used later to irrigate your garden, maintain the landscape and wash your car.
Building your dream home the green way is the best way to take part in saving the world. It’s a win-win situation with all-around benefits for nature, your health and the future generations.
