You know it’s important to consider your personal needs when designing and building a home since it’s where you spend most of your time.
However, now more than ever, it’s time to also keep in mind the needs of your larger home during the planning process, the planet.
Designing an eco-home means taking into consideration the way you live day-to-day and how that impacts your carbon footprint.
Sustainable living has become more and more popular over the years as larger portions of the population are becoming more educated on how home life can quickly have a negative effect on the planet’s health.
When making your home ten degrees warmer is as easy as pushing a button, it’s easy to forget what implications it could have for the future of the environment.
Whether you’re looking to build a new home or update the one you currently have, it’s important to consider including some eco-home features that could help you be kinder to the planet without sacrificing the comfort level of your home.
Take a look at these 8 sustainable features to include in your eco-home and never have to wonder if your house is Earth-friendly again!
1. Energy-Efficient Appliances
One look at a monthly electricity bill might be all you need to realize how much energy everyday appliances like dishwashers and refrigerators use.
It may be time to invest in energy-efficient appliances that are built to conserve as much energy as possible, thus lowering the impact they have on the environment.
A good start to sustainable living is as easy as taking a look at what appliances you use the most and switching them out for a more energy-efficient option.
2. Quality Insulation
The material hiding inside your walls affects your home’s carbon footprint drastically.
For starters, if your home is not properly insulated, then your heating and cooling system is working overtime to keep up with changing temperatures which in turn uses unnecessary energy.
The second major impact your insulation has is on how much greenhouse gasses are being released from your home into the atmosphere.
To ensure neither of these things is occurring in your home, it’s important to always invest in insulation that keeps your home sealed and protected.
3. Solar Panels
Many green homes these days can be identified quickly via one key feature, solar panels.
Not only do solar panels allow you to power your home without using fossil fuels, but they also drastically reduce the amount of greenhouses gasses being released from your home.
Another advantage of solar panels is that you’ll be investing in something you own. Whereas paying a utility bill means you’re investing in a company that someone else owns and will benefit from in the long run.
Renewable energy is one of the best ways to ensure you have a good return on investment and a sustainable home.
4. Eco-Friendly Building Materials
When looking into using a sustainable design for your future home, it’s important to factor in using sustainable building materials as well.
Bamboo and insulated concrete are among many materials that can be used for building your eco-home that will last and have minimal negative effects on the planet.
Bamboo grows at such a fast rate, that the supply is plentiful and insulated concrete will ensure greenhouse gas emissions from your home are kept to a minimum.
These are among many sustainable building material options that would be great for your next build.
5. High-Performance Windows
Much like having proper insulation, it’s important to ensure your windows are not allowing for greenhouses gasses to escape your home into the atmosphere.
The amount of energy consumption in homes caused by windows alone is astounding. If you aren’t careful, your windows could cost you hundreds of dollars a month in heating and cooling bills, not to mention the effect on the environment.
Swapping out your windows for ones that are energy efficient is one of the best decisions you can make regarding your eco-home design.
6. Green Roofs
By far one of the more attractive sustainable design features you can consider is a green roof.
Using plants as a roofing material can lower energy emissions in the home, keep the air cleaner, and absorb water that could normally make it into your home.
In addition to all of these ecological reasons, green roofs also look attractive and make for a great conversation piece.
7. LED Lighting
You may think that turning off lights whenever you leave a room is all you need to do to ensure you’re saving energy. This isn’t always the case.
Filament bulbs still pull a large amount of energy from your home any time they are on.
The solution to this problem is to replace your filament bulbs with LED energy-efficient ones.
Once you do, you can watch your energy bills go down and rest assured that your carbon footprint just got smaller.
8. Garden Space
Sustainable living sometimes means growing your own food.
Gardening has been proven to be one of the best ways to reduce the amount of waste a household produces. No more loading up your recycling bins with the plastic waste your grocery store produce came in for the week.
Having a garden, much like a green roof, can also help clean the air around your home.
If gardening isn’t your cup of tea, perhaps start small with an herb garden inside your home. Later on, you can expand to a larger garden outside if your space allows for it.
Live Happily in Your Eco-Home
These eco-home features only scratch the surface of what you can include in your future green home.
If your goal is to reduce your carbon footprint and live in a home that makes you happy, then start with these features and you won’t be disappointed.
Are you ready to get started building your dream eco-home? Head to our website to get started with a company you can trust.
Remember, a happy planet equals a happy home.
