A sustainable home is an efficient and eco-friendly home retrofitted or constructed in ways that respect natural resources, optimize energy and water usage, and last longer with quality systems. When making your home more sustainable, you’re contributing to improving the environment. It can also lower the costs of running your home—creating a healthier environment for yourself and your family.
For your next home project, here are some of the best home improvements you can try.
Passive Solar Design
Passive solar design is when you use energy from the sun to aid in cooling and heating living spaces, making your home more comfortable during any season while saving the environment. They’re a long-term investment, so you don’t need to worry about ‘continuous’ billing. You can consult residential and commercial companies to have solar panels installed inside your home, helping you save money and your surroundings.
Insulate Walls and Floors
Insulating your walls and floors can aid in cooling your home, saving you from high energy bills. Insulation can help you save money on energy and make your home more comfortable and sustainable. Doing this can maintain a comfortable temperature inside your home regardless of the weather. It balances the temperature even in the winter and summer.
Wooden Window Frames
Although double glazing windows are a great way to save more energy, the Unplasticized Polyvinyl Chloride (UPVC) surrounding them can be very polluting, producing compounds that can be toxic to the environment and your health. That’s why it’s best to go for classic window frames and black thermal curtains for better efficiency and sustainability. Plus, when looked after properly, wooden window frames can be just as durable as double-glazed windows.
Switch to Energy-efficient Light Bulbs
Although energy-efficient light bulbs have been around for a while, it’s only recently that people started taking notice of their effectiveness and the impact of high energy consumptions on the environment, They can help you save money and make your home efficient. Plus, they last longer than most traditional light bulbs.
Invest in Tankless Water Heaters
Conventional tank water heaters continuously use energy to maintain the temperature you’ve set, contributing to high energy bills and air pollution through combustion pollutants. To get running hot water more sustainably, go tankless. A tankless water heater is an energy-efficient heater that doesn’t heat water until necessary, saving you more energy and producing fewer pollutants.
Service Boiler — Regularly
Although even modern boilers on the market are more heat and energy-efficient than their traditional counterparts, you’ll still need to service regularly to keep them in top condition. Doing this saves you money—and the environment by reducing their emission of pollutants.
Go for Low-VOC Paint
One of the most affordable ways you can make your home ‘sustainable’ is to give the rooms’ walls and ceilings a new paint job. However, conventional paint typically contains volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that can off-gas over time, contributing to air pollution and affecting one’s health by causing breathing issues, nausea, and damage to the nervous system and other organs. It’s best to invest in low to zero VOC paint to preserve your health and the environment.
Upgrade to Eco-friendly Appliances
Energy-efficient home appliances are long-term investments that can improve the sustainability of your home for a long time. For instance, having an energy-efficient washer can prevent hundreds of gallons of water waste annually, and upgrading to high-efficiency refrigerators and lighting can cut your energy usage in half.
Sustainable housing uses natural resources and energy with little to no impact on the environment, promoting a better quality of life and cleaner surroundings. The projects mentioned are some of the best you can try—making your home greener, healthier, and functional.
