Environmentally friendly home design brings together concepts of sustainability, architecture, and decoration to promote a balanced lifestyle. There’s sustainable architecture that builds on methods that minimize the environmental impact during a building’s lifecycle. It uses renewable materials such as bamboo, which is not only sustainably sourced but also quite strong. Sustainable homes can use locally available, natural building materials like earthbags or straw bales instead of concrete blocks or chalk (a by product of marble mining). Building Science and the Field Guide offer two sides of the same coin in understanding how buildings work and how they can fail orchestrate climate change; figure 5 illustrates their main components.

Eco-friendly home design blends sustainability, architecture, and decoration to promote a lifestyle with balance and ease, where living in harmony with nature prevails.
Here are some eco-friendly features you might find in new residential construction:

• Renewable energy systems: High-concentration photovoltaic cells on solar panels deliver far more electricity per watt than average concentrator-cum-panel systems found in many rooftop installations.

Incorporating these elements into your home’s design makes it an energy-efficient haven.

Energy Efficiency

In addition to using any eco-friendly materials you may have specified elsewhere in the project, including those from local sources, the next step toward creating an energy-efficient residential building is using solar power.

Sustainable architecture cannot do without water-conservation techniques. Buildings should not be built without taking into account the local water situation and the need to reduce the demand on municipal supplies. Rainwater harvesting system installations are frequent eco-friendly measures in contemporary building practice.

These systems collect and store rainwater for various uses, such as irrigation or even the supply of potable water in some cases (more about this later). Building ecology focuses not only on a reduction of (water) consumption but also on how buildings can function as ecological niches, leaving biodiversity intact instead of signing it away. What happens inside buildings is just as important as what happens outside eco-sensitive interior design focusing on materials that have either replaced variants that were less sustainable (e.g., using reclaimed wood instead of new wood) or those with no equivalents in deforested areas (such as using natural stones instead of marble).

Sustainable architecture and eco-friendly decor are crucial for a number of reasons. They help reduce carbon emissions, they are friendlier to the environment, and most importantly, they create healthier spaces for living and working.

One can achieve these kinds of spaces by using sustainable materials like low-VOC paints that emit fewer toxic substances into the air. Using natural fibers like organic cotton or wool in combination with synthetic fibers (that are also sustainably sourced) will result in a space that has better indoor air quality than one covered in carpets made from petrochemically derived artificial fibers.

In addition to using more sustainable materials, another way to enhance personal health (and thereby increase the “emittance” of such spaces) is arranging your space effectively so as to maximize airflow, by placing furnishings away from walls while minimizing the creation of dead air spots with natural light wherever possible (if possible at all), during both day and night.

In recent years, energy-efficient solutions have become a common part of the build process for many sustainable home builders. These modern, efficient systems integrate solar panels, wind turbines, and geothermal heating and cooling into homes. The use of smart technology helps homeowners better manage their energy consumption in an effort to reduce their individual carbon footprints, something that not only is friendly to the environment but also benefits their pocketbooks.

From programmable thermostats that “remember” when occupants are away or return home to smart electricity meters that show exactly how much energy is being used (and over what period), building seemingly invisible systems into an already efficient structure refers back to one theme: the elimination of waste.

The homes of today increasingly contain elements that have been manufactured from recycled or upcycled materials. These sustainable building practices are becoming the norm, according to builders and architects. For eco-minded homebuilders working with such principles, there’s a growing tendency to leverage reclaimed wood (see “Reclaimed Wood in Sustainable Building”) for interesting flooring and furniture applications.

And while upcycling may not always be apparent as such, because its aesthetic potential is often showcased through design—I remember seeing an installation at ECOSTYLE in Berlin where glass from discarded bottles had been melted down and formed into the basis for beautifully crafted countertops—a similar principle could work for creating durable decorative art involving old metal light poles or drinking straws. Multiply these kinds of ideas across buildings, and one gets a path towards using existing waste streams as resources instead of sending them to the landfill.

Recycled materials shine brightest when used for structural elements, using old steel aimed towards making a fresh pipe. The U.S. Green Building Council notes that “recycled content helps reduce the demand on finite natural resources.” One can just imagine which dumpsters might be good candidates for sourcing sticks of copper aimed at being formed into Craftsman-style mailbox pipes.

When it comes to building an eco-friendly abode, the sustainable selection of furnishings can play a key role. Renewable resources serve as the basis for many nature-friendly designs, consider using bamboo instead of traditional wood for your next reinvented home. The lowered demand for new resources helps in the reduction of unwanted waste; furthermore, eco-friendliness is taken to another level when you choose materials with organic or natural finishes, such as cotton or wool (as opposed to synthetic materials), and opt for passing on into the future recently made items that use these same finishes. Some companies now advertise “young,” not-yet-decomposed sofas and chairs made possible by using newly harvested organic cow hides. You might be surprised at how easily you can find products from those banner companies I keep mentioning while searching online.

It’s common to see plants feature prominently in home deliveries. You might have heard that air-grown herbs and other select plants make perfect additions to many homes. Keyed into that notion, homecoming retailers have gone after these image-friendly plants with renewed vigor this year.

At the same time, consuming lifestyles of all kinds have been remiss in paying attention to indoor air quality, a precondition largely ignored by most health agencies save for the warnings issued during the 2008 financial crisis over toxic working conditions in factories producing certain everyday amenities. Plants improve indoor air quality by clearing interiors of pollutants and adding oxygen two basic ingredients making them a premier constituent part of various domestic spaces lived in by people and their pets.

Learning about sustainable living techniques is enlightening. I find the history behind various methods to be fascinating. Change in the name makes these practices relatable, and my mind starts thinking of okay-to-fail prototyping opportunities around my home.

Using old light bulbs converted to LED lights isn’t just ENERGY STAR certified; it’s also a common refrain from friends who’ve made the switch and report both reduced energy consumption and costs. That kind of anecdote helps visions of sustainability become practical indeed.

The path I’ve followed from practicing basic recycling to living the “comprehensive sustainable experience” illustrates for anyone interested in sustainability how they, too, can make impactful changes. Along this journey, I’ve discovered eco-friendly practices that produce a more balanced lifestyle and an increasingly healthier planet.

It’s not often you’ll find conversations about “eco-friendly construction,” but when you do it’s usually because someone is looking at the cost of building with sustainable materials. Those costs are making contexts hard to grasp, until now. Eco-conscious builders might find that payback comes mostly (if not entirely) over energy-retrieval lifetimes instead of just up front.

It can seem too expensive to put solar panels on my house, but in the long run, they save a ton of money on electricity. Besides, going green doesn’t have to mean breaking the bank. I’ve found that government incentives and rebates are available so that installing solar panels (or other renewable energy technologies) isn’t such a financial shock as it seemed at first. Many local, state, and federal programs offer some kind of financial assistance for homeowners or businesses looking to implement those new “green” technologies, participating utilities alone offer well over 600 different incentive programs across the United States.

Constructing an eco-friendly home occasionally requires working through some complicated regulatory situations. Environmental building regulations and zoning laws can present the appearance of insurmountable obstacles, but with proper planning and early communication with local authorities, navigating these complexities is possible. Meanwhile, it is helpful to find architects and builders who not only understand sustainable construction practices but also are knowledgeable about the required permits and procedures involved in various regions where you may be building your eco-friendly home. Working through these potential snags proactively keeps your project on track and helps prevent costly delays.

Countless policies support green construction in many regions, which can be very helpful for builders of infrared homes one construction center in northeastern Los Angeles that specialization has led to. Even without such supportive policies, building an eco-friendly home can be viable and rewarding.

Yes, there are challenges, most notably cost and access to certain “eco-friendly” materials and a bit of creativity is required to overcome them. But the payoff is well worth the effort: With approximately 3.5 billion square feet of existing building stock that will need replacing within the next decade, a space equivalent in area to all the buildings from Los Angeles to Chicago, it’s clear what a huge impact building sustainably can have on this planet.

carl
Author

Carl, an ardent advocate for sustainable living, contributes his extensive knowledge to Zero Emission Journey. With a professional background in environmental policy, he offers practical advice on reducing carbon footprints and living an eco-friendly lifestyle. His articles range from exploring renewable energy solutions to providing tips on sustainable travel and waste reduction. Carl's passion for a greener planet is evident in his writing, inspiring readers to make impactful environmental choices in their daily lives.

Write A Comment

Pin It