Good design does not focus only on aesthetics. It also concerns the environment, the people who will be living in it, and its impact on the overall ecosystem. Good architectural design is encompassing as it directs the lifestyle, movement, and the future of the people within the built environment.
Sustainable design is a term that designers use a lot when it comes to designing structures. Sustainable features are considered a must-have in architecture and interior design because sustainable building techniques lessen the damaging consequences of development on the environment and lower carbon emissions.
Sustainability is more than just a fad word. It is an essential design feature that every client should strive to integrate into their homes. Why should a house be sustainable? And how can you make yours become one? Stick until the end of this blog to find out.
What is a Sustainable home?
An efficient home that preserves resources optimizes energy and water consumption and will endure longer with high-quality systems is considered a sustainable home.
Sustainable houses are manufactured, shipped, and installed efficiently thanks to the use of low-impact, high-performance materials. Additionally, high-quality products generate less waste due to their longer lifespans and a lower rate of failure.
Why should a house be sustainable?
Photo by Gus Ruballo on Unsplash
Living in a sustainable home gives you a variety of benefits. Building with sustainable materials considerably reduces reliance on costly, huge environmental polluters and non-renewable sources of energy. As a result of the use of durable, recyclable materials and sustainable design in features, you will eventually spend less money on maintenance.
Aside from reducing hazardous chemicals, green living physically decreases stress and enhances the quality of life. The emphasis on cohesive design, lower expenses, and simpler systems that benefit the entire community lead to a happy and satisfying lifestyle.
Here are 10 Surprisingly Simple Ways to Make Your Home Sustainable
- Opt for energy-efficient appliances
- In a world where prices and expenses are increasing every year, saving whether it be money or energy resources becomes an integral habit that everyone should strive to adopt. Energy-efficient appliances also help you save money by lowering your home energy costs, in addition to minimizing greenhouse gas emissions and water usage.
- Use eco-friendly paint materials
- Chemical-based paints have several hazardous chemicals that might affect the environment and human health. Eco-friendly paints are a growing substitute for chemical solvents today. These lessen or completely stop the discharge of VOCs into interior environments by using water-based solvents. Additionally, they have no smell and substantially less of an environmental impact. So, the next time you embark on a repainting project, consider purchasing eco-friendly paints instead.
- Install solar panels
- Solar panels generate electricity, which may be utilized to power your home. Solar panels are an excellent choice for powering your home with a clean energy source that creates fewer carbon emissions.
- Use LED bulbs
- A home’s interior design is not complete without lighting. But it takes more than one light source to craft a beautiful lighting design in your home. Therefore, it is important to find a way to integrate lighting sustainably. Designers highly suggest using LED bulbs. It uses 85% less power for the same light output when compared to standard lighting. LED is extremely energy efficient, producing less heat while producing more light at a cheaper cost.
- Create an energy-efficient small garden
- A garden is a common feature in a house. If you have extra outdoor space and you’ve been thinking of utilizing it as a small garden, use sustainable gardening techniques. Less water is used in an energy-efficient garden. Utilize a lot of mulch and plants according to the various irrigating requirements. Take advantage of drip irrigation by collecting rainwater.
- Buy sustainable materials
- When compared to other types of materials, such as plastics, sustainable materials produce far less waste, which reduces garbage sent to landfills, energy use, and environmental impact. You may lower your carbon emissions by choosing sustainable construction materials or purchasing energy-efficient equipment, which will help you consume less energy.
- Install a smart meter
- A smart meter is an electronic gadget that keeps track of data like power factors, voltage levels, current, and energy usage. You may track your energy use with the use of a smart meter, which will display your usage in almost real-time along with the cost in pounds and pence. You may even create a budget if you want to maintain control over your spending.
- Use High-Performance Windows
- Homes will stay warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer with the help of high-performance windows. By integrating this cutting-edge technology in your home, summer solar heat gain is blocked by up to 70% or more, while winter radiant heat is reflected indoors.
- Recycle or reuse construction materials
- There are several options for reducing, reusing, and recycling if you’re planning a substantial repair or construction project. Recycling building materials makes rational sense when you consider the enormous amount of material utilized in construction. Reusing materials lowers the need for new resources, lowers the cost of producing and delivering new materials, and reduces the necessity of dumping garbage in landfills.
- Use cool roofs
- A cool roof is a type of roofing system that is designed to reflect more sunlight compared to a regular roof, which means it absorbs less solar energy. The building’s temperature is lowered as a result, keeping you cool during the hot season. In buildings with air conditioning, using cool roofs can reduce energy and financial costs, while in buildings without air conditioning, it can increase comfort and safety.
There you have it – the top ten simple ways you can do to make your house more sustainable. Making your home sustainable supports a more environmentally friendly and resource-conserving way of living, from enhancing indoor air quality to reducing global climate change. Have more sustainability questions? Don’t hesitate to contact us. Whether you’re planning to renovate a small portion of your house or build a new home, we are here to assist you from start to finish.