Building a sustainable house is easy compared to turning a house into a sustainable one. The best time to make a house sustainable is while a Home renovation.
A sustainable house is one that efficiently utilizes resources and energy with minimal impacts on the environment. We learned in schools days that air conditioners and refrigerators emit carbon monoxide, which directly results in ozone layer depletion. The overriding principle in sustainable housing is ensuring it promotes a better quality of life and involves less waste, better reliability, less maintenance, lower life-cycle environmental impacts, and more re-use.
1. Insulate -
Insulating your wall and floors will help to aid in cooling purposely to save energy. Insulation will bar the heat from passing in and out of your house. It helps in maintaining a comfortable room temperature regardless of the temperature outside. Which in turn stops us from buying Air Conditioners or Air coolers.
2. Double-Glazed Windows -
Using double-glazed windows helps in regulating the indoor temperature without the need for electrical appliances like air conditioners. They keep the house cooler during the summer and warmer during winter. You could always consider thermal blackout curtains if double-glazed windows seem too costly.
3. Energy-Efficient Appliances
Swap out the regular appliances with energy-efficient appliances for a very sustainable way of life. From bulbs to refrigerators, using energy-efficient appliances is very much the first step you can take. Though they might feel a bit expensive at first, the benefits of saving on electricity bills far outweigh the expense
4. Solar Energy
Solar energy is the cleanest source of energy that is available almost everywhere. Active solar devices like photovoltaic solar panels help to provide sustainable electricity. Typical efficiencies for commercially available panels could be as high as 28%. But the out of Solar Panels is dependent on latitude, climate, and Orientation
5. Water-Based Paints
When painting, consider water-based paintings that contain natural pigments. Most paints currently available in the market are not as eco-friendly as we would like them to be. Besides, people even argue that water-based paints offer more variety of colors and are better to look at.
6. Compost
Instead of wasting your kitchen scraps and leftover food, turn them into compost. Just place a compost bin in your garden and fill it with any food waste. Over time, the bacteria will turn the waste into compost that you can use in your kitchen garden or Garden to grow your Vegetables
7. Recycled Furniture
Recycled furniture is a great way to control the number of trees being cut down for furniture. More and more furniture is coming to the market made from recycled wood or other materials and is eco-friendly. Instead of buying the latest and newest trends from a branded furniture shop, be responsible and get recycled furniture.
8. Conserve Water
There are tons of ways in which you can save water. Nobody has to explain the importance of water to us. Install a rainwater harvesting system to reduce your dependency on water from traditional city companies. If you don’t have that kind of money, install low-flow fixtures on showers and sinks. A drop of water saved is a drop of water saved.
9. Be Smart
Our ultimate goal in building sustainable houses is to save money and conserve energy and resources. The truth is that you can do a lot of that in just your regular homes. Even doing something as simple as cooking in a pressure cooker saves up to 50% of LPG.
Be responsible, be smart. Try and conserve as much energy and resources as you possibly can and your home is already on its way to becoming a sustainable home.
With climate change at an alarming rate, it is wonderful to have people opting for sustainable housing over regular housing. The time for change is now. Not when it is too late. Stand up and do your part. Don’t wait for others. Be responsible now.
