If you’re thinking of building a new home, there are many reasons why you should make it a sustainable one. A sustainable home is not only beneficial for the environment but it will decrease your energy consumption and therefore save you money. It can also help to improve your health and quality of life. There’s even evidence that sustainable homes sell faster and for more money. Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it! Here are some tips you need to know about designing and building a sustainable, new home.
Find The Right Person
An obvious (but vital) first step is to find designers and builders who know how to build a sustainable home. Carefully research a person’s credentials before you hire them. Some good places to look are https://www.greenbuilding.org.au and the Green Building Council of Australia.
Strategic Designing
During the design stage, a sustainable home should be oriented and laid out in such a way that it takes advantage of its environmental surroundings. This means that it can be heated by the sun and cooled by the breeze so you’ll be less reliant on expensive heating and cooling technologies.
Image: Bricks and Agent
Building Materials
After designing your new home, it’s time to build it. Make use of innovative materials that are both eco-friendly and people-friendly. For example, Hempcrete. Hempcrete is a natural, fire-and termite-resistant building material. It also offers effective insulation, soundproofing and helps to keep the air in your home clean.
Also, be open to sustainable alternatives to traditional building materials like using recycled steel instead of new steel. Using bamboo instead of timber (bamboo grows back faster than trees) and also using locally-made materials that don’t have to be transported long distances in emission-spreading vehicles.
Sustainable homes can also be made with the “prefabricated” construction method. This means that a house’s components are not made on a building site but in a factory which can be more efficient and less expensive. Prefabricated construction also means that excess material can be immediately reused and recycled instead of left on the ground.
Sustainable Features
A sustainable home has features designed to minimize energy consumption and wastage. You most likely know about some of them: Solar panels, LED lights, Greywater systems and water tanks.
Other sustainable features that have emerged recently are green roofs (essentially a garden on your roof) and green walls (a vertical garden on your wall). Green roofs and walls can help to insulate and cool your home, provide cleaner air and visual beauty. Another interesting feature to consider are energy-efficient windows. These are windows of a particular style or with a special glazing/covering/shading that will reduce the heat loss in cold weather or heat gained in hot weather. Therefore, you won’t need money-guzzling heaters or air conditioners as much!
Are you looking to embark upon building a sustainable home? Our team can help you decide which kind of project is right for you! Book a call or get in touch on 1800 184 284 today for free, expert advice.
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