What makes a sustainable house?
Ask 20 people in one room and you’ll likely get 20 different answers as to what exactly makes a sustainable house. It’s a large topic and if you’re considering building or buying a sustainable house you’ll have a lot of research and planning to go through. Not to mention, green housing standards are changing all the time – such as LEED for example.
That said, there are some general ideas behind green housing you can follow. Decent sustainable housing is in line with the following ideas…
Each level of the process is sustainable. From how you choose a site for your green home, to your choices of materials, to the contractors you use, to your energy system and landscaping, and so on. Think about green housing as small parts of one large whole. At each level of the planning and building process there are sustainable aspects you can consider.
Your home is as big as you actually need but not bigger. Small is sustainable when it comes to housing. A sustainable home should, in my opinion, have light footprint and take up less space. Debates abound about if you can build a green McMansion but I think a “green” mansion totally defeats the true purpose of sustainable design.
The materials you use in your home, or for the building process are locally acquired, efficient, reclaimed and recyclable when possible. Use only what you need as well. For example, if you have three bathrooms do you honestly need double sinks in all of them?
Good sustainable housing is planned with energy and water requirements in mind. Your home might make use of wind power, solar panels, or high quality energy efficient windows for example. As for water; water efficient appliances, rainwater systems, solar water heaters and low-water organic landscaping are all useful if your goal is a sustainable house.
Consider the interior. A home that’s green on the exterior is not so green if you fill it with toxic paints and non-sustainable furniture. Consider things like clean air techniques, reclaimed floors, eco-friendly cleaners, sustainable bedding and more to keep your home green.
[image via stock.xchng]
Post from: Blisstree
What makes a sustainable house?