Discover The Best Tips For Making Your Home A Greener Home
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by: GaryGreenman | Total views: 78 | Word Count: 613
Are you interested in making your home more energy efficient and green? With rising electricity costs and sky high utility statements, most of us are looking for ways to cut costs and save some money. You can begin right at house, by making a few easy changes to make your home electricity efficient and more eco friendly.
But beyond energy efficiency, there are numerous other important factors that go into the model of a green residence. For instance, water conservation, indoor air quality, and the use of safer constructing materials will all contribute to a more eco-friendly home. 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 house, or purchasing a green residence.
Proper 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 energy efficient. Ventilation systems should be wrapped and sealed to prevent air loss.
Air Quality - To make the house healthier, safe constructing materials ought to be used to limit introduction of noxious and harmful vapors. For example, use zero-VOC or no-VOC (volatile organic compounds) paint, and put in recycled, reclaimed, or sustainable flooring prepared from materials that don't have formaldehyde, such as bamboo or cork. Consider installing physical termite barriers instead of chemical treatments, where appropriate.
Water Efficiency - Consider installing dual-flush toilets, low- flow shower heads, and a tankless water heater, or at a minimum; a more electricity efficient Energy Star rated model.
Insulation - One of the top choices a consumer may make is to install added insulation. Use formaldehyde-free insulation. Moreover, install a radiant barrier on the underside of the roof, where suitable.
Roofing - Consider 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 should have a 90+ rating. The heating and cooling unit magnitude and placement should be correctly thought out to increase efficiency.
Lighting - Install energy efficient fixtures. Compact fluorescent light bulbs should be utilized 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 suitable.
Thermostat Timers - Install a programmable thermostat and hot water furnace timer.
Outside - Consider 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 careful assortment of plants, and concentrates on water conservation. Use green landscape design activities, such as reducing the size of the lawn. Think about the proper position of trees to help shade the residence and reduce cooling costs. Use hardscape materials to reduce weeds and eliminate the use of pesticides and herbicides. Use inhabitant plants and xeriscape methods to avoid the need for excessive care and watering. Compost. Install drip irrigation systems and consider reclaiming water.
You will see that from top to bottom, you may look at your entire house indoors and out to look for possible improvements to make it more eco friendly. It's not too hard to make your existing residence a green home. By making at least a few simple changes to improve electricity efficiency, in no time you will see the optimistic results in your utility statements. Plus, you have the additional benefit of knowing that you are doing more for the environment at the same time, and that always feels nice.
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