Eco Friendly Building Materials and Sustainable Living
Building any new home can take up a lot of energy and resources so using earth friendly building materials whenever possible will go a long way in reducing the impact your home has on the environment. Responsible building practices can also be used to ensure you’re using as little energy as possible to build your house.
Alternative Types of Earth Friendly Building Materials
Using materials that are cheap and plentiful can save you money while using up less of the earth’s valuable resources. Substitute bamboo for wood whenever possible and use stone, rocks and clay for your foundation rather than concrete. Some aspects of your home may still require wood so try to avoid wood from old growth forests and use your lumber sparingly.
Rammed earth and recycled steel are excellent earth friendly building materials to reinforce the walls and frame of your house. Any recycled materials that you can swap out for the less environmentally friendly ones will give you a greener house that isn’t creating excess waste.
Sustainable Energy for Your Home
Earth friendly building materials aren’t the only way you can protect the environment from the construction of your house. Using natural energy sources both during and after the building process can save you money and prevent a drain on limited energy resources. Solar panelling, wind mills, and water wheels are great ways to provide your house with all or part of its energy.
Determining the types of power sources you’ll be using in advance will allow you to choose the perfect location to harvest your energy. A house powered primarily on solar power will need to be built in a very sunny region. If you happen to live in an extremely windy climate, a series of wind mills can offer you an ample energy source.
Earth Friendly Building Materials inside Your Home
Once you’ve got a floor, roof, and walls, furnishing your house can be turned into an environmentally friendly endeavour as well. Installing strictly low energy lighting may cost more at first but will save you money in the long run when you discover how rarely you have to replace your bulbs.
The tiles and flooring you use can be made from recycled materials while sinks, counter tops, and cabinets can be salvaged from demolition sites. Last of all, ensure all of your major appliances are low energy and environmentally safe to build yourself the greenest house possible.
