4 Great Ideas On Green Home Design
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by: hugatree
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The way we humans are currently living isnt going to be sustainable for long. This is a fact that were becoming more and more aware of every day. And so green home design, formerly a small market, is spreading steadily over the world. Some experts predict that green home design will soon make up a huge slice of the real estate industry.
In the United States, homes create 38% of the total carbon emissions. So in the fight on global warming, how we choose to build our homes (with green home design or without it) is going to have a huge effect on our future. For those who want to give their houses a bit of green home design, there are many little steps that can be taken. But if youre seriously interested in reducing the impact your home has on the environment, there are four basic green home design concepts to follow.
Rule 1 in Green Home Design: Go Small
Large homes are a symbol of wealth, status, and success. But large homes use up an incredible amount of energy for heating and cooling-- and this energy generally comes from nasty fossil fuels that muck up our environment. Large home also use up more building materials and so, of course, create more waste. So if youre looking to incorporate green home design in your building plans, build small.
Rule 2 in Green Home Design: Use Passive Solar Planning
Passive solar heating is one of the backbones of green home design. This kind of heating and cooling is relatively simple, and uses the climate to dictate the design of the home. In warmer climates, homes are designed to absorb less heat. In colder areas, design is used to reduce the amount of heat lost. Green home design uses the buildings orientation to the sun, window positioning, stone flooring, and other building elements to control the temperature and save energy.
Green Home Design Rule 3: Use Recyclable or Renewable Materials
Unfortunately, almost all the materials you use in your home will harm the environment, either during manufacturing or transportation to your home. Using locally produced renewable materials can help reduce the amount of damage your building can do. Use recycled materials, such as recycled insulation and lumber composites, or quickly-renewable products, such as bamboo flooring, in your green home design.
Rule 4 in Green Home Design: Shrink your AC
Heat and AC systems are the most energy-consuming elements in almost any home. And even though the thought of the hot summer months might make an oversized air conditioning system sound pretty tempting, this kind of cooling is as anti-green home design as you can get. Big air conditioning systems cool the air too much and too quickly, causing them to turn on an off constantly. This constant on-and-off cycle gives large AC systems a short lifespan, making them create extra waste along with using up extra fuel.
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