Making Your House A Greener Home

Learn The Top Tips For Making Your House A Greener Home

Are you interested in making your home more energy efficient and green? With rising electricity costs and sky high utility bills, most of us are looking for ways to cut costs and save some money. You can start right at home, by making a few easy changes to make your residence electricity efficient and more eco friendly.

But beyond energy efficiency, there are several other important factors that go into the model of a green house. For instance, water conservation, indoor air quality, and the use of safer building materials will all contribute to a more eco-friendly house. This applies to new construction, as well as renovating and greening an older home for improvement and sale. Here's a list of some of the factors to think about when remodeling your home, or purchasing a green house.

Correct Ventilation - The home should have the right number and placement of exhaust fans, proper ventilation, vapor barriers, and duct sealing. A well designed thermal envelope can make the residence more comfortable and electricity efficient. Ventilation systems ought to be wrapped and sealed to stop air loss.

Air Quality - To make the home healthier, safe building materials should be utilized to limit introduction of noxious and dangerous vapors. For instance, use zero-VOC or no-VOC (volatile organic compounds) paint, and put in recycled, reclaimed, or sustainable flooring made from materials that don't have formaldehyde, such as bamboo or cork. Think about installing physical termite barriers in its place of chemical treatments, where suitable.

Water Efficiency - Think about installing dual-flush toilets, low- flow shower heads, and a tankless water heater, or at a minimum; a more energy efficient Energy Star rated model.

Insulation - One of the top alternatives a shopper can make is to install additional insulation. Use formaldehyde-free insulation. Additionally, install a radiant barrier on the underside of the roof, where appropriate.

Roofing - Think about metal or cement tile roofing, or durable shingles rated for 40 years or more.

Appliances and Furnaces - Use Energy Star rated appliances. The HVAC (air conditioning) systems ought to have a 17 SEER rating or better, and furnaces ought to have a 90+ rating. The heating and cooling unit size and assignment should be correctly thought out to add to efficiency.

Lighting - Install energy efficient fixtures. Compact fluorescent light bulbs ought to be used in place of halogen or incandescent bulbs.

Windows and Doors - Install double-paned, Low-E windows. Properly shade windows that face the sun, or install window overhangs. Install storm doors where appropriate.

Thermostat Timers - Install a programmable thermostat and hot water heater timer.

Exterior - Think about installing low maintenance materials that make sense for your type of weather and area, such as fiber cement siding, 40-year shingles, and engineered wood framing.

Landscaping - Eco landscaping considers cautious selection of plants, and focuses on water conservation. Use green landscape design practices, such as reducing the dimension of the lawn. Think about the correct placement of trees to help shade the residence and decrease cooling costs. Employ hardscape materials to reduce weeds and do away with the use of pesticides and herbicides. Use native plants and xeriscape techniques to avoid the need for too much care and watering. Compost. Install drip irrigation systems and think about reclaiming water.

You may see that from top to bottom, you may look at your whole home indoors and out to look for possible improvements to make it more eco friendly. It's not too hard to make your existing house a green house. By making at least a few easy changes to improve electricity efficiency, in no time you will see the positive results in your utility bills. Plus, you have the additional benefit of knowing that you are doing more for the ecosystem at the same time, and that always feels nice.

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Article Source Earth Articles Green Directory