In our homes, nearly 51% of our annual energy consumption is used on heating or cooling our homes.
What’s more, lighting, refrigeration, and water heating make up nearly 27% of our energy consumption. Nearly 21% of our energy use for electronic devices.
Are you looking for a way to offset your energy use, or to live a more environmentally conscious life? Have you considered green living?
Did you always want to live in an eco-friendly home, but you’re not sure if it’s realistic or affordable? A green home can be affordable.
Want to learn more? Keep reading to learn more about eco-friendly home design options.
Insulation
Sometimes, going green is not all about the fanciest appliances or features. Sometimes, it’s a simple feature that can reduce energy waste.
One simple yet effective green home design is insulation. Insulation helps a home stay cool during the summer and warm during the winter. It can help you save money on your energy bill since less energy is needed to warm or cool the house.
When building a new home, the home should be adequately insulated from the foundation to the attic.
You can update the insulation of your current home too. The cost of the insulation can eventually pay for itself in energy savings.
Solar Panels
Another eco-friendly home design is installing solar panels. With solar energy, you can use the sun’s power and turn it into electricity for your home. This is done by installing solar panels on the rooftops of your home.
Are you considering installing solar panels on your current home? You can have a solar professional determine if you’re able to install solar panels on your roof.
Worried that solar is expensive? The cost of choosing solar has actually gone down every year since 2009. What’s more, there are financial incentives and tax breaks offered for choosing solar energy.
Wondering about solar panel maintenance? The most common issue is replacing the solar batteries.
Although there is a high upfront cost of installing solar panels, it can be worth it if you live somewhere with high energy costs.
Green Roofs
When building a new home, another consideration is a green roof. A green roof is a roof that grows a layer of vegetation.
Green roofs can benefit the environment because they decrease the heat island effect in cities. The temperatures in cities are usually hotter in the summer than in rural areas. This is because all the pavement and concrete re-emit the heat from the sun.
Green rooftops can actually reduce that effect and reduce the need for air conditioning and energy use. Through the process of evapotranspiration, green roofs reduce the heat in the air. What’s more, green roofs can help insulate buildings.
Also, green rooftops can absorb and reduce stormwater runoff. This can reduce the risk of flash floods.
Green Building Materials
Building a home with green building materials is another environmentally-conscious option. You can choose materials that are made up of renewable resources.
For example, instead of choosing traditional hardwood flooring, you can choose reclaimed wood for your flooring. You can also use bamboo for your flooring material.
Smaller Home Size
Another eco-friendly home design is building a smaller house. A smaller house can be eco-friendly because you will be using fewer materials and energy to build the house.
What’s more, you’ll need less energy to heat or cool the home. This means a smaller energy bill for you and a smaller carbon footprint.
If you live in a smaller space, you’ll naturally want to buy less stuff because there’s not much room to store everything. You’ll also spend less time cleaning and maintaining the home.
Energy Efficient Appliances
If you’re thinking about adding eco-friendly home upgrades, you can consider upgrading to energy-efficient appliances.
Americans spend about $2,000 a year paying for energy use. Nearly $200 to $400 of that money could be wasted on energy wasters such as air leaks, drafts, and outdated cooling and heating appliances.
You can save energy and save money by upgrading your older appliances. Appliances take up nearly 15% of our energy use in our homes.
If you have older appliances, it might be time to upgrade to more energy-efficient options.
Programmable Thermostats
Programmable thermostats can also help you save energy. Many times, we set our thermostats in the winter and forget to adjust it when we leave the house. This can waste a lot of energy since you’re heating up an empty home.
You can save nearly 10% a year on heating and cooling costs by adjusting the thermostat 7-10 degrees Fahrenheit from its usual setting for eight hours a day.
Update Lighting
There are simple, affordable ways to make your home eco-friendly. One way is to upgrade your light fixtures.
You can reduce energy use by choosing energy-efficient light bulbs.
Reduce Waste
Although this is not a green home design, it’s an action you can take to live more sustainably.
There are ways you can live a greener lifestyle. For example, you can learn how to compost your organic wastes. You can also use more reusable products such as reusable containers and storage bags instead of plastic, disposable ones.
When you go to work, you can brew coffee at home and take it in a thermos instead of buying a paper cup that you end up throwing away every day.
These are just some of the small actions you can take to start changing the way you live.
Final Thoughts on Eco-Friendly Home Design Options
Going green doesn’t have to be out of your budget range. There are many options when it comes to an eco-friendly home design.
Whether you end up building a brand new home, or you make changes to your existing one, there are so many changes to make to live more sustainably.
Want to learn more about eco-friendly living? Check out more articles on our blog.
Related Posts
