Designing and Living in a Sustainable Home.

Do you have a home that was built before you could measure the environmental impact of every decision? Does your family gobble up electricity and natural resources as if there were no tomorrow? Are you concerned about global warming and other effects of fossil-fuel use on the environment but feel helpless to do anything about it? Do you want to reduce greenhouse gas emissions with don't know what it takes to have an energy-efficient home? Have you been thinking about designing or remodelling your home to make it more energy-efficient but feel stymied by the wicked complications of sustainable design?

Don't panic. There's still so much you can do. There are plenty of ways to make your home more environmentally friendly without sacrificing comfort or style. You may have to do a little research and get creative in some areas, but it can be done.

Use all the natural light possible.

Light is important for your health, both mental and physical. But you will use significantly less energy with a few changes to the way you deal with natural light.

Windows and mirrors

Keeping your curtains open and lining up mirrors in strategic places won't just make your home feel bigger and brighter, it will also extend the amount of time you can spend without touching a light switch. Light bounces around the mirrors and flat surfaces and floods a room, so keep that in mind when turning on the lights at night too. As a bonus, less light will make it easier for you to have a good night's sleep.

South-facing windows tend to be the best for this since they drink in light for longer than windows in other orientations.

Eco-friendly lightbulbs

You could also use LED light bulbs to reduce the amount of electricity that is used by your household. Switching from incandescent lights to CFL or LED lights is also an important step. CFL lights mimic sunlight and, as we mentioned above, help with your health.

Energy efficiency is the keyword of sustainable living when it comes to electricity. Combine appropriate lightbulbs with quality windows and judiciously placed mirrors to keep your energy costs down. Something you'll figure out in time too is that while you're working toward an "eco-home", you'll probably save money in the long run too.

Natural light also generates heat

Think about the heating systems you have running in the winter. But before you start feeling guilty, think about how you sunlight can warm up your home.

During the winter, the sun's light gives your home a boost of energy that can replace your heating system during the days.

In spring and summer, open those windows as much as possible to take advantage of the fresh air.

What is a radiant barrier?

Though it might sound like something right out of a fantasy novel, radiant barriers are there to help with cooling costs. In the summer, the sun's rays can heat your home quickly, raising the temperature inside and costing you in cooling bills. A radiant barrier is a material that you put on the attic floor (or attach to the underside of the roof rafters) that reflects the heat coming from the sun into your attic back to the outside.

Once installed, this is one of the most discrete parts of eco-friendly homes in warmer climates. The reduction in the energy bill is nice too.

Green roofs

A green roof is a roof that is partially or completely covered in vegetation and soil. Green roofs provide natural insulation for your home and can reduce stormwater runoff. They're also aesthetically pleasing, environmentally friendly and healthier for your family than traditional roofs.

There are a variety of green roofing materials on the market, so consult with a professional to see what would be the best fit for your home.

Combined with rainwater harvesting systems, you can turn the green space above your head into a green home in all possible ways.

In Canada specifically, you need to be aware of what will happen to that roof during extended winter months, especially when it comes to ice dams.

Solar panels

Instead of a green roof, you can elect to have solar panels. A staple of eco-friendly houses looking toward a sustainable future, having these renewable energy sources directly linked to your have makes it so that you don't need to use as much energy generated from fossil fuels to meet your energy needs.

You'll save energy and absorb heat in one blow. It's important to know to take care of the panels because environmental sustainability also means not needing to replace the panels from preventable damage.

Build in the right place

If you're building your house from the ground up, pick the right building site. The placement of your house on the lot will determine a variety of things, including how sunny it is and how well your potential wind turbines will work.

A south-facing lot with an open view to the east or west is best for solar panels. If you're looking for a wind turbine, make sure there's enough space on the property and that there are no obstructions (trees, buildings, etc.) in the way.

For a green building, just like other houses, location is supremely important. From maximizing solar power to reducing heat loss, this is a step you want to think carefully about.

Build with eco-friendly materials

The building materials you choose will have a big effect on how sustainable your home is. Here are a couple of the most common sustainable building material types.

Clay and concrete blocks: These can be an excellent way to build a natural and thermal-efficient wall in your eco house, but make sure they're properly layered and insulated.

Wood: A wood house is flexible and adaptable to the surrounding environment. It's also sustainable, recyclable and has a high insulation value, which means you can reduce energy loss through your walls.

Don't overlook recycled materials like recycled glass for your windows or recycled wood fibre for your green insulation. It's not just to prevent air leakage, it's also about taking what would end up in a landfill and turning it into something that can improve your indoor air quality.

Just don't stick natural materials in your house for no reason though, take a look at the recent advances in eco house design to see what cutting-edge sustainable architecture projects prioritize.

Efficient appliances

We've mentioned a few times that one of the ways to make your home more eco-friendly is to use appliances that prize energy efficiency. When it comes to refrigerators, dishwashers and washing machines, look for an Energy Star rating.

Plant trees and gardens near your home to help improve air quality

In addition to soaking in carbon dioxide and spewing out oxygen, trees and plants reduce your carbon footprint in a few different ways.

Trees trap carbon dioxide for long periods.

Even the best forms of home energy conservation pale in comparison to how useful trees are for soaking up carbon dioxide. Green homes surrounded by trees and plants also help with heating and cooling energy usage. In the summer trees cool down your home and in the winter they break up gusts of wind that can test your insulation -and your heating bills.

Optimize your future home's energy efficiency

What you want is to create a passive house. A passive house reduces your energy needs by up to 90% while creating a stable comfortable home. Conserving that thermal mass within the home is a game-changer. Triple-glazed windows are part of what helps, but this kind of optimization is something that requires thinking about everything from the building materials to the sustainable nature of every system.

Renewable energy is amazing but being energy efficient is ideal for sustainable homes. A passive house is not just eco-friendly, it can change the way we think about energy.

Conclusion!

There you have it: a few steps to get you started on making your home more eco-friendly. From building materials and appliances to where your house is situated, there are lots of things to think about.

With a little bit of effort, you can make your home more sustainable and reduce its impact on the environment.

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