What is Referred to as a Green Home?
What does it mean when someone refers to a house to be ‘green’? Does it refer to the color of the house? Does it refer to the environment-friendly design or function of the house’s systems? In the current context, a green home usually means eco-friendly in many ways. It means the building makes a positive impact on the environment or minimum negative impact. As a general rule, homes can be considered green when designed to be so.
Preserving the Planet
Preserving the planet is the most important driving force behind the green movement. There are also financial perks of making your home ‘green’. The use of green construction techniques can help homeowners save money. Some of these techniques include:
- Use of locally-available materials to reduce the need for transportation
- Reducing or eliminating pollution
- Reducing waste from construction
- Recycling different materials
Using green construction methods or outfitting your home can help save tons of water every year. Studies also show that it can help reduce energy bills by up to 30%.
How to Go Green?
There are many opportunities for going green. Here are some of the steps you can take in this direction:
- Living Close to Public Transportation: This can help you keep the emissions down.
- Home Insulation: This will help keep your home more comfortable when the temperatures become extreme. This will also help you save on your cooling and heating costs.
- Energy Efficient Systems: Investing in appliances that consume lower power can also help make your home ‘greener’. Improving the placement of your windows and allowing more natural light also helps.
- Water Efficiency: Making efficient water use by investing in the latest sanitary systems and appliances can also help make your home green. You can get your Plumber, Sydney, to assess your current water requirements before planning an upgrade. Rainwater collection and intelligent irrigation systems will also help.
- Using Renewable Energy: You cannot think of going green without investing in renewable energy. Australia gets enough sunshine, and you may also produce surplus power to sell back to the power companies. The use of solar power to heat water or generate electricity is an essential step in this direction.
Finding Help in Going Green
Many organizations support the process of turning homes green. Some of the well-known names in this list include:
- LEED: this US Green Building Council certification is recognized globally.
- Energy Star: You should consider upgrading your appliances and windows to Energy Star rated alternatives.
- WaterSense: You should get the help of your plumbing company to upgrade to products with greater water efficiency. Whether you have an inoperative or inefficient water heater or Blocked Drain Sydney, you should upgrade the techniques to make your home greener. EPA sets the rating system.
- Air Plus: Upgrade the systems in your home to improve indoor air quality. The EPA also sets this system.
The good thing about going green is that it helps save money in the long term. So, keep the points mentioned above in mind if you want to make your home greener. You will need the assistance of the right professionals to achieve the desired goals.