Sustainable home construction and sustainable living concepts flow together effectively. For example, a sustainable home construction feature may include easy access to water for edible plantings paired with low water use for lawns, and might also include driveway and sidewalk construction that allows runoff to soak into the soil instead of into the storm drain system. A sustainable living plan features common areas with plantings that include food production for the neighborhood.
Siting the House
If you’re building from the ground up, make sure that your home plan is focused on your heating and cooling comfort. If your home is in the desert southwest, windows to the east and south will need an awning to prevent exposure to direct light, while the northern windows will need screens for air movement.
Power
Site your home to harvest the best quality sunlight on the darkest winter day. Your commercial solar New Mexico can guide you on the best layout and placement for your solar panels, as well as the most advantageous wiring plan to capture and store the energy efficiently.
One of the best features of a solar panel is that they have few moving parts. Electricity is harvested, run through a controller, and put into batteries. When you need power, it’s pulled from the batteries and run through an inverter so it can power your 110-volt appliances.
It’s important to note that solar is generally a part of your overall power plan. There may be days when solar is all you need; there may be days when you can sell power back to the grid. However, there may also be days when your batteries are low, or a part of your system fails. Keeping your home on the grid will protect your home and your belongings from the hazards of running out of power.
On the heaviest draw days, it unlikely that you’ll have enough solar power to keep the whole house going. For example, air conditioners take a great deal of power to keep your home cool, particularly if you live in a humid region of the world. Allowing your home to get too warm can make it impossible to get comfortable; hot air holds more moisture and getting the humidity down once your house is warmed up can be a real challenge.
Other Sustainable Building Features
Open Construction to Reduce Energy Use
The interior of your home should be as open as possible to allow air and light to pass effectively. Ceiling fans that can move cooling air on the hottest days and direct warm air down on the coolest days are critical. In the “use the heating and cooling you have” style of energy consumption, consider installing a programmable thermostat that can keep your home cool at night in the winter and allow the temperature to come up a bit on the hottest summer days.
Flooring
Invest in a solid surface flooring that will help to keep you cool when the temperatures rise. On a cold winter day, you’ll likely have socks, slippers, and shoes on your feet, but in the heat of summer, you will want to go barefoot as often as possible to keep your body cool. At the least, sandals on a cool tile floor can help you stay comfortable.
Geothermal Systems
Pairing passive solar construction, cool solid surfaces, and a geothermal heating and cooling system can greatly reduce your need for fossil fuels, either from electrical turbines powered by propane or by burning it directly in your furnace. Because a geothermal system has to go deep into the soil harvest the steady temperatures in the earth to heat and cool your home, discuss your intentions with your builder before you set the foundations.
Use Natural Light
Away from your solar panel, consider adding a skylight close to the center of your home. If you want to avoid direct light inside the house, consider installing a mirrored tube skylight that flexes enough to allow you to bring in filtered, redirected light. These units can often be focused and serve as a wonderful ambient light in a dim area, reducing your need for electric light.
Building a sustainable home will take a focus on productive energy capture and reduced energy use in every aspect of the design and construction. Your choices of building materials, home location, landscaping, and power sources will have a large impact on your resource consumption over time.
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