Does the rising cost of energy have you concerned? You aren’t alone.
More and more people are beginning to add tech to their homes to make their lives easier. Unfortunately, this comes at the cost of using more power. Luckily, there are things you can do to cut down on your power drains.
If you want to do more for the environment and save money on power, sustainable home design is worth the effort. Follow the tips below to build a sustainable house.
Switch to LED Light Bulbs
Most people don’t think of light bulbs when they think of saving energy. After all, they’re small bulbs that don’t give off too much light.
Unfortunately, they use more power than you think.
Switching to LED light bulbs can save you money on energy bills. They use less power and last much longer. Any extra money you spend buying one will be made up and then some.
LED bulbs also have the advantage of being configurable. You might not want the standard color for light bulbs in your home. You can configure LED bulbs to change color and shine at a different warmth.
Collect Rainwater
Gardening is more popular than ever. It’s a great way to grow your own food and make your yard look incredible. Unfortunately, it can be a water hog.
If you get adequate rainfall in your area, you can use a rainwater barrel to harvest rainwater to use for your garden. Set up a barrel next to your home and use your gutters to direct rainwater into your barrel. You can hook up your garden hose to your rainwater barrel to take care of your plants.
You do need to be careful if you decide to use rainwater for other things. Many locations have restrictions on rainwater usage. Learn about your local laws to make sure you don’t do something against regulations.
Use a Smart Thermostat
If you’re like many households, your home doesn’t have people in it during every part of the day. People go to school and work. It’s a waste of energy to heat and cool your home during those parts of the day.
A smart thermostat solves this problem. These thermostats allow you to program settings that automatically change your home’s temperature throughout the day.
If you want to go a step further, invest in a zone-controlled HVAC system. These systems will allow you to program the temperature of each part of your home. If you have a part of the home that you hardly used, there’s no reason to keep it the same temperature as the rest of the house.
Buy Energy Efficient Appliances
Your appliances are one of the most significant energy drains in your home. They’re on all the time and take a lot of power to run. If you’re using old appliances, you’re using more energy than necessary.
Luckily, there have been many advances made in energy management for everyday appliances. If you buy a new appliance, it will use much less energy than your old ones. Make sure any new machine you purchase has an energy star certification.
You don’t need to replace all your appliances straight away, either. Wait until you need to replace one of your appliances with a new one. You can gradually replace your home appliances with energy-efficient ones as your old ones start dying.
Invest in Landscaping
Making a sustainable house doesn’t only involve home improvements. There are many things you can do with your yard that helps your home contend with the elements.
If you live in a chilly environment, you’ll face cold winds that keep your home colder in the winter. Sustainable landscape design will help by blocking that wind from hitting your house. Well placed shrubs and bushes will stop your furnace from working so hard.
The same is true for the summer months. The more sunlight that hits your home, the hotter it gets in the summer. Placing trees around your house that blocks sunlight will keep your home cooler during the hot summer.
Invest in Solar Panels
It used to be that investing in solar panels cost a fortune and never paid for itself. Luckily, things have advanced a lot since those times.
Solar panels are less expensive than ever. For people planning to stay in their home for a long time, solar panels are an investment that will pay for itself over time. If you want to save money and go green with sustainable building design, switching to solar is the perfect option.
There’s no one-size-fits-all solution to putting together a solution with solar. Get in touch with residential solar companies in your area so you can get an estimate. They will figure out your energy needs so that you can get the right number of solar panels for your roof.
Use Passive Solar
Unfortunately, not everyone has the money to invest in solar panels. It takes a large investment to build a system that powers a modern home, and it might take too long for some people to recoup their investment.
The good news is that you can still take advantage of solar energy to build sustainable homes.
Passive solar design is the process of using the sun to help heat and cool buildings. It uses building materials that reflect and absorb sunlight to control the amount of heat that enters a building. When used correctly, you can reduce the need for standard heating and cooling methods.
Windows also play an essential role in passive solar systems. By adding larger windows to your home, you can increase the amount of sunlight that enters your house.
They don’t just allow you to get by with less artificial lights. They allow sunlight to do the hard work of heating your home during winter months.
Invest in Sustainable Home Design Today
You don’t need to redesign your entire house to make it more sustainable. You can implement many of the ideas above on a budget, so don’t wait to start the process. It won’t take long for you to see why sustainable home design is worth investing in.
Do you want to learn more home improvement tips? Head back to our blog to discover our best advice.
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