Sustainable houses have a minimal impact on the environment and require little to no energy for heating and cooling. For most people, sustainable houses can also help reduce their carbon footprint by as much as 40 per cent.
They might be more expensive to build than traditional homes, but they may not need significant renovations after they've been built. Sustainable houses are also more likely to stay cool in hot weather and have lower energy bills.
There are several benefits to building an eco-house design right now. The most obvious ones include the reduced energy needs and CO2 emissions, which can make a big difference when it comes to heating and cooling those huge houses with little solar panels on the roof.
It also saves you money on utility bills. These houses may need less maintenance than their traditional counterparts as well since their components aren't made of cheap materials that will break down over time.
Sustainable houses can help prevent desertification by reducing the need for farmlands, forests, and other land resources for housing and industry.
We all know that our planet is in a serious state, with the environment rapidly deteriorating, and the effects of climate change becoming all too real. What we need to do, if anything, is make sure we can avert this disaster.
The best way to protect our future is to start with what we have now—that includes making our houses as eco-friendly as possible. These are the top reasons why we need to start making changes today.
Lessening Emissions
A great deal of energy was used for heating and cooling homes in America alone last year, leading to a lot of greenhouse gasses. More and more frequently, scientists are starting to reveal how the global warming phenomenon is linked to climate change.
Therefore, we must try to cut back on the number of greenhouse emissions that we produce.
Energy Efficiency
The mere act of heating and cooling homes can take up a pretty fair amount of energy, especially in today's overheated world.
If we continue to need so much to heat and cool our homes, the cost of the resulting emissions will only continue to increase. This makes it important that we try and ensure that our houses use as little energy as possible and this will also apply when constructing our sustainable house design.
Energy Intensiveness
It's getting increasingly more difficult for us to keep up with energy costs, not just because of the rising cost of petroleum, but also because our homes are getting more and more energy-intensive.
As we all know, most modern homes are fairly energy-intensive, whether it be for appliances like refrigerators or air conditioning systems.
This means that not only do we need to make sure our homes produce fewer greenhouse emissions but also that they use less energy overall.
Pollution
The fact is that in the majority of cases, houses are simply very dirty places. Whether it be the construction, the furnishings, or the cleaning and maintenance, there are many ways that our homes can contribute to air and water pollution.
What we need is for us to do our best to stop polluting our environments as much as possible.
Energy Independence
Of course, energy affordability is another important issue when it comes to making our homes more sustainable.
The best thing we can do not only to prevent greenhouse emissions but also to reduce our energy costs is by taking steps in this direction. One way we can help ourselves here is by making sure that we insulate our homes properly.
Constructing a sustainable house is not as easy as it sounds. There are other various factors and variables to consider, including layout, insulation, solar panel orientation, and metal roofing. Let’s get started with laying out the foundation of your sustainable house.
A green building is so much more than just saving energy. From the type of materials used to some key design considerations, green homes create a healthier indoor environment for occupants while using less energy and water.
The first step in building your green home is creating a solid foundation. In other words, start with the basics and work your way up from there.
Some basic strategies you can use include: planning for future expansion or remodelling, using local materials for construction, salvaging or reusing existing materials, and landscaping for the highest degree of sustainability.
Let's walk you through some of the basic factors involved in building a sustainable house:
● Plan for expansion and remodelling to minimise waste and maximise the life of your materials.
● Use local materials wherever possible, because this helps you to save money during construction and reduce the impact on the environment by reducing transportation distances.
● With recycled content in mind, select your building materials for maximum energy efficiency such as using items such as steel or aluminium instead of concrete, drywall, or wood panelling.
● Reuse building materials that are salvageable or reusable.
● Use landscaping to your advantage. The right plant selection and placement can help reduce runoff and erosion, provide shade and humidity control, increase wildlife habitat and aesthetics, decrease noise, and bring other benefits such as stormwater capture through rain gardens, etc.
Many other factors contribute to the sustainability of your home beyond the environmental impacts of its design.
It's always great when you can do something to improve the environment by doing something personal and easy.
There are many things in a building that contribute to sustainability, some of which were previously mentioned. However, other factors help in building a sustainable house.
For example:
● A wide variety of materials are available for construction, such as straw bale, cob, and mud bricks.
● Depending on the type of construction method used there is a different percentage of waste being produced by the process. They vary from less than 5% for adobe homes to about 30% for timber frame homes.
● Daylight harvesting that could occur through windows or skylights can reduce cooling needs by up to 25%.
● Energy conservation can be an easy way to save money on utilities and fossil fuels.
● Building with local materials can help to create jobs and decrease transportation costs.
● One way to avoid the heating problem is by taking advantage of passive solar heat.
● Creating a building that promotes cross-ventilation, using windows and doors for different rooms or areas of the house so that you are not overheating or cooling one area of your home. It also has benefits in being able to set up a natural airflow through your home instead of using the site or room air conditioners that are typically noisy and expensive. It promotes good air circulation which helps prevent the growth of mould and mildew, as well as keeping dust from settling on surfaces throughout your home.
● The foundation of the home can be made from a variety of materials such as wood, concrete, steel, and concrete block.
● Each one has a different rate for biodegradation. Wood for example will degrade at about 5% per year.
● An unused wood foundation that is not ground contact can degrade up to 25 per cent faster than it would if it was used in the house to support the walls and flooring.
● Also deciding on where you build your home will make a difference.
In conclusion, efficient airflow along with other factors is key to building a sustainable home.
How can you maintain high efficiency you may ask?
Windows, whether single or double pane, will direct air from outside into your home and away from the window. Single pane windows have a higher U-factor than double pane windows due to the lack of insulation sandwiched around the window.
Double pane windows, however, are more expensive and require more maintenance to keep them clean because they are exposed on both sides. Window sweeps will also help to maintain efficiency by closing up any cracks that may allow draft air into your house.
Densely packed insulation will keep your home warm or cool efficiently. The best way to ensure that your home will have the right amount of insulation is to calculate the R-value of your insulation.
This can be done by using a computer program. To do this you must know your area's climate zone and average temperature, along with the thickness of each material.
Doing this for each room in your house will give you an optimal amount of insulation for each room. Spray foam is also a great way to insulate on a tight budget and has a large R-value for its price.
If you decide to build a sustainable home, we hope this guide will help you do just that.
FAQs
What are sustainable homes?
Sustainable homes are homes that have a minimal impact on the environment and require little or no energy for heating and cooling.
How to build a sustainable home?
There are a lot of things to consider when building a sustainable home but some key points to note are energy independence, pollution reduction, and emission lessening.
What are the benefits of building an eco-friendly house design?
There are several benefits to building an eco-friendly house design. The most obvious ones include the reduced energy needs and CO2 emissions, which can make a big difference when it comes to heating and cooling those huge houses with little solar panels on the roof.