Nowadays, there’s more and more pressure on homeowners to make their properties environmentally friendly, and with good reason, too. With dwindling resources and climate change affecting everyone, all over the world, we all need to be doing our bit to save the planet and protect Mother Nature. While it is absolutely possible to convert your home into one that’s far greener (such as by having solar panels installed), it’s even easier to create a green home from scratch.
Custom built homes are the perfect places to showcase energy saving equipment, technology and methods, and if you’re in the design stages of having a home built for you, or are contemplating building your own home, prioritizing its eco-friendliness, is something you can achieve with ease.
From saving money on your energy bills to lowering your carbon footprint, creating a greener home environment, will also help the greater environment, while you still live in comfort in your unique, customized dream home.
Here are 3 highly effective ways to make your custom home more environmentally friendly, and don’t forget that your chosen construction company will likely have plenty of great green ideas, too:
- Have energy-efficient windows installed
Designed to provide homeowners with a number of different benefits, energy-efficient windows are great for keeping extreme temperatures outside where they belong, giving you a much more comfortable ambient temperature inside your home. While they are a significant investment, their quality means that they’ll continue to perform well for many years to come, and with a reduction in energy bills that you should see over time, you could recoup your money in a matter of years. Additionally, energy-efficient windows can help significantly reduce external noise, which can be a real plus point if you live in a densely populated area or close to a major highway or airport, for example.
2. Upgrade your appliances
This is arguably the single most effective way to improve the amount of energy your home consumes, and right from refrigerators to dishwashers and washing machines, buying energy-efficient models can help you reduce your energy bills considerably, without you having to make any changes to your lifestyle or habits.
3. Make sure your new home is insulated
Talk to your general contractor about insulating your custom built home, to prevent heat and energy from being lost through the walls, floors and roofs, causing your energy bills to soar. With high quality insulation installed right from the get-go, you can reduce your household’s energy consumption and save money, while helping to save the planet, too.
Custom homes should always be built with the environment in mind, but this often isn’t the case. Make sure your new home and household in general, isn’t harming the planet by considering some of the eco-friendly options listed above, and for more ideas, talk to your general contractor.