Many people find adopting sustainable home practices to be both challenging and expensive. However, leading an environmentally conscious lifestyle can be simple. While one must shell out some money initially, green living ultimately leads to significant cost savings, especially in terms of utilities, energy, waste, and transport. This highlights the importance of having an environmentally friendly design while building a new home or upgrading an existing one with sustainable features.
Irrespective of a new home or a current one, there are different ways in which one can enhance the eco-friendliness of any given space and ensure long-term financial well-being.
1) Add Insulation to the House
Insulating the house’s interior walls is a good idea for reducing the home’s carbon footprint. It helps prevent the warm air within the house from leaking out whenever the temperature drops, especially during colder months. While many homeowners in colder regions do insulate their home walls, unsustainable materials like fiberglass and sheep’s wool are generally used. Instead, it is better to use cotton as a sustainable practice. Simply put thick layers of cotton within the wall studs. Other materials, such as cellulose made from recycled paper and newsprint or cork obtained from the cork oak tree, are also good eco-conscious alternatives for wall insulation.
2) Get Air Sealing Done
A useful energy-saving solution for households is to opt for air sealing. This involves sealing or insulating the roof or the attic. This can help retain nearly half of the heat within the house, which otherwise would escape through an unsealed or uninsulated attic. Air sealing makes it easier to regulate the interior temperature of the house, whether it is heating or cooling. Besides, it makes climate control more effortless inside the house, helping to save more energy as well.
3) Redesign the Floor Plan
Embracing sustainable home practices, including those that foster a connection with nature, offers a wealth of advantages for homeowners. Having an optimized floor plan is a good step towards this, as it can help allow more natural lighting inside the house. Being exposed to natural light for most of the day not only helps improve the well-being of everyone in the house but also helps cut back the overall energy consumption, eventually leading to significant savings. For this, it can be helpful to optimize the utilization of those areas of the house that get the maximum sunlight daily. These spaces can be converted into home offices, kitchens, dining rooms, or other areas in the home where the occupants spend most of their time.
4) Make the Flooring Sustainable
The floor is one of the major parts of the house that can be used for an eco-conscious design. A sustainable flooring material can help reduce the carbon footprint since it saves trees from being cut down. Also, eco-friendly materials are not obtained through manufacturing processes and do not contain compounds that are harmful to the environment. For instance, one can consider using reclaimed wood salvaged from older buildings or barns. Doing this reduces landfill waste. Recycled glass, cork, bamboo, and recycled plastic bottles or tires are sustainable alternatives for eco-friendly flooring.
5) Use Energy-Efficient Cooling Systems
One of the best ways to lower one’s carbon footprint, along with energy usage, is to use an air conditioning system that is energy-efficient. It can also help lower monthly utility bills. There are two types of air conditioning systems to consider: split systems and packaged central air systems that use ducts. Choosing between these two depends on the temperature preferences, the total energy capacity of the house, and the size of the room where the system needs to be installed.
6) Opt for Hydronic Radiant Heating
This HVAC technology runs on water instead of air. The usage of water makes the system more energy efficient compared to those that have forced-air gas heating systems. Better energy efficiency of the hydronic system also translates into cost savings over the long term. Besides, there are lower chances of allergies with water-based heating since there is no air blowing around to distribute pollen and dust particles inside the house.
7) Install Solar Panels
Lowering the use of fossil fuels is one of the most effective ways to lead a sustainable lifestyle. This can be done through eco-friendly home upgrades like installing solar panels on the roof. These panels can draw clean energy from the sun, lowering the dependence on fossil fuels. The initial installation costs for this can seem high. However, it has been proven that solar power can significantly lower household energy usage. This means more savings on energy over the long run. Also, homeowners can get subsidies and incentives from state and federal agencies when they make the switch to solar energy. A south-facing roof that is well-maintained and in good shape is generally preferred for installing solar panels.
8) Use a Smart Thermostat
Installing a smart thermostat can help one keep track of energy consumption. It can also control the climate of the house’s interior with a phone app and a stable internet connection. Most of these gadgets have features that schedule the energy requirements depending on the low and high usage times. The biggest advantage is that this can be done remotely using a smartphone.
