Posted on Aug 23, 2011 in Guides
Buying an eco-friendly home is not as difficult as you might think, and in the long run it can save you a lot of money, as well as having less of an impact on the environment. An eco-friendly home is one that is energy efficient and saves you money, but it also can mean it is a home made from recycled materials and one that makes much better use of space. When buying an eco-friendly home you will still need to consider the same things that you do when buying a normal home, such as going through the right channels to borrow money and paying additional fees like stamp duty and conveyancing fees.
Building methods
You can start thinking eco-friendly even before you start building the home. Choose an architect that is familiar with eco-friendly homes and have them design a home that is suitable for your block. Think about creating a home that takes up less land space, leaving as much room for trees and plants as possible. Leave room around the home for water tanks and a vegetable garden. Think about where on your block you build the home too. Make sure it is in a position so you can make use of natural light, and it is facing a direction so you get the warmth of the sun to increase the energy efficiency.
Building materials
You can even be eco-friendly with your choice of building materials. Any timber in your home should be recycled from other sources. You will find that you can buy bricks from homes that are being torn down. You could also choose to build with eco-friendly materials like mud or stones, or even build a straw bale home.
Energy efficient
One of the main purposes of your home is for it to be energy efficient. Make sure that it is well insulated so it stays warm in winter and cooler in summer. You can also put in double glazed windows and have solar panels installed so you rely on the sun to power your home. Solar power can also heat your water so you can save on gas as well as electricity. Solar panels are not as expensive as they used to be and many new homes that aren’t eco-friendly are being built with solar panels to heat their water.
Appliances
Within your home you can be more eco-friendly by choosing the right appliances. When you buy a dishwasher, washing machine, fridge or even a clothes dryer you will see the energy rating listed on the item through a star rating system. The more stars an item has the more energy efficient it is. You can also buy dishwashers and washing machines that use less water. You can also be more energy efficient when lighting your home by choosing to use power saving light bulbs. Another way to be eco-friendly is to watch your energy consumption, so turn off lights in rooms that are not in use, switch appliances off at the wall and don’t heat or cool rooms you are not using. Having blinds or curtains on your windows will help keep your house warm in winter and block out the heat in summer.
Tags: block Building conveyancing fees home home solar power straw bale home trees and plants use warmth of the sun Water
Posted on May 27, 2011 in Development
Energy savings, higher productivity and less waste. These are but a few of the many attributes towards implementing green building concepts and practices. These days, because of programs like the U.S. Green Building Council’s landmark LEED rating system for buildings, the ideas and concepts of green building have now entered the mainstream.
Currently, sustainable development analysts have noted that there are around 500 million square feet of green buildings under design, development, and implementation, and there has been a lot of success in LEED applications in different industries and sectors.
The Challenges Toward Widespread Acceptance of Green Building Ideas
Despite the rising acceptance in the concepts of sustainable building, there still remains a large challenge toward widespread acceptance and long-term practice, and despite the growing awareness in sustainable practices, green products, and high-performance technologies in building design and construction, many worry that there continues to be a lack of accurate, thorough, and quantifiable information regarding the financial and economic impacts of high-performance buildings within the construction and home building industry. In addition, there are also hurdles when it comes to the perception of cost, which has become a stumbling block in the quicker acceptance of green building concepts.
According to some sustainable development purveyors, there’s a consistent disconnect between capital costs and operating costs, as for instance, a building owner knows there is a return on investment of 40 percent going into a green building, as the investments are taken from capital; however, the year-to-year, the operating budget isn’t linked, and that poses a real stumbling block. For the past years, many entities have discussed and analyzed what it actually costs to build green and the ultimate value that results from constructing an environmentally responsible, high-performing facility in hopes of convincing the facilities industry to rethink construction budgeting and financing.
The Attributes Of Green Building Designs
Home builders and developers who have embraced the concepts of eco-friendly building, say that the four attributes of green building design, which are increased ventilation control, enhanced temperature control, enhanced lighting control, and increased daylighting, have been clearly and significantly correlated with increased levels in productivity.
Many note that indoor air quality also has been linked to potential productivity and health gains in workplaces and educational facilities, which helps to explain that the greatest advantages of green building come in the form of benefits to the occupants. The other financial benefits of green buildings are more than 10 times the average initial investment required to design and construct a green building. Construction industry insiders say that for energy savings alone, these exceed the average increased cost associated with going green, and the benefits and savings mark the true value of sustainable construction.
In these times where cost-efficiency, productivity and concern for the environment need to go hand in hand, home builders and property developers have a choice between a building designed to be healthy and efficient or one that is not. According to experts, with a 50-year life-cycle investment, green buildings are increasing at a rate of around 40 to 50 percent each year, and as global energy costs also soar up, the risks of simply doing conventional design are increasing, as well as the risk of going obsolete has fast become a large phenomenon too.
Tags: block Building capital Council development economic impacts energy savings hand high performance technologies investment operating budget percent performance buildings purveyors s green stumbling block sustainable building sustainable practices Towards waste
