Tips For A Greener Home Renovation

When it comes to your home renovations, you might wish to transform your property into a greener home.  This will not only help to preserve the environment, it can also drastically reduce your energy bills.

Here are some things to think about before you start planning your home renovation project.

  1. Windows: Although big picture windows can provide you with a great view and plenty of natural light, they can also lose valuable heat in the winter and cause your home to become very hot in the summer months.  This could mean that you have to use extra heating in the winter and more air conditioning during the summer, neither of which is good for your eco-friendly aspirations or your fuel bills. You can combat these downsides and still enjoy the advantages of big windows by opting for double or triple glazed energy efficient glass.  Solar shades or tinted glass are a good idea too, especially if your windows are south-facing.  
  2. Insulating your home: A low-energy home needs good-quality insulation to keep fuel bills low.  If you're having substantial amounts of building work carried out on your property, there are plenty of green insulation products available including wool, hemp, wood fibre, recycled paper and mineral fibre. 
  3. Saving water: Saving water is especially important if you live in a remote, arid area and are reliant on a water tank or if you are city-dwelling and have a main water meter.  Save water by choosing special, low-water use showers, taps and toilets.  
  4. Construction materials: If you're keen on making your home eco-friendly, it's important that you make sure any timber that you're using is obtained from sustainable forests.  Ask your building contractor for their assurance that their lumber is responsibly sourced, and use recycled materials and furnishings wherever possible.  
  5. Green energy: One very good way of 'greening-up' your home is by investing in technology that will generate sustainable energy for your home.  If your local climate is very dry with hot, sunny summers, solar panels can be a really good energy-generating innovation.  Coastal properties that are exposed to winds blowing in off the sea can benefit from a small wind turbine.  Such technology can provide you with pretty good savings on your electricity bills, whilst using renewable energy sources, rather than relying solely on fossil fuels.

It is perfectly possible to incorporate an eco-friendly theme into your home renovation project.  Before you begin, why not discuss your eco-home ideas with a good, local building contractor for more advice on how your renovation could be made just a little bit greener?


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