Creating an Environmentally Friendly Home
Eco-friendly homes are designed to support the environment by reducing energy consumption, ultimately providing a method of saving money, whilst also being beneficial for the environment.
Building Materials
Using materials that are recycled, renewable, and lightweight are important when building a sustainable home. Basically, the less energy required to manufacture the materials, the less impact there is on the environment. Raw and local composite materials made from recycled wood or plastic, recycled steel, precast concrete, or even bamboo are all good examples of eco-friendly building materials.
Passive Design
While an average of around 40% of all household energy is used to control heating or cooling, passive design can significantly reduce this amount. Passive design utilises various factors that can impact energy usage such as building layout or orientation, as well as the use of renewable resources such as solar energy. Eco-friendly homes that use sustainable passive design can reduce their energy usage, minimise fluctuations in temperatures, and can even improve the quality of indoor air.
Windows are commonly a major source of heat loss, so installation of energy efficient windows with high star ratings is a smart way to implement passive design to maintain a comfortable temperature inside the home and decrease heating expenses.
Correct Insulation
It’s very important to make sure the house is well insulated. This is by far the most important factor in building a green home and insulation can be retro fitted in existing homes. If the insulation is poor, your home will attract heat in summer and lose warmth in winter. Ideally insulation should be installed in the floors, walls and ceiling of your home to minimise heating and cooling costs.
Energy Efficient Appliances
Electrical household items like televisions, fridges, and washing machines can use a lot of power, especially older ones. Swapping them out for energy-efficient models with a good energy rating means they will use less power to run, so utility bills will decrease over time. More stars on the energy rating generally means better energy consumption, but it's important to look at the size. While larger models may have more stars, the overall energy consumption may actually be higher, so always read the fine print. And don’t forget to use energy-efficient bulbs with water-saving taps and showerheads.
Sustainable Eco Gardens
Growing your own edible gardens and using a compost system is an efficient way to create an eco-friendly backyard. By recycling waste from your kitchen, you are reducing landfill. Edible gardens filled with vegetables and herbs help you to save on grocery costs and, even if you only have limited space in your yard, you can install vertical edible gardens.
Recycle rainwater
Older toilets use approximately 10 to 25 litres of water every time you flush. Ensuring you have a dual flush toilet with a water saving cistern will be much better for the environment, and your pocket.
Installing rain harvesting systems, such as tanks, to collect water can improve the sustainability rating of your home and save you money by reusing rainwater to reduce your billable water consumption. Not only can this water be used for flushing toilets, but it can be used to water the garden, wash the car, or even be purified for drinking water.
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