Top Tips for Building an Eco Friendly Home

One of the main benefits of building your own home from scratch – especially with the modern materials that are available, is that you can make it far more green than trying to upgrade an older home. The green benefits of building an Eco friendly home work in tandem with the notion that when you build a home from scratch you can also have full control over the way the building will look.

When it comes to eco home design, some things that you can incorporate into your planning could include:

• Structural Insulated Panels – considered to be the future of building techniques these are panels which are made up of a core of insulated material which is sandwiched between layers of structural board which can be a variety of materials. They are versatile, speed up construction, have a great range of eco friendly benefits and can free up living space in the home. This method avoids the traditional issues of having to pack walls with insulation; often after construction.
• Glazing - choosing the correct glazing is an important issue when it comes to eco home design. Well insulated windows can dramatically save, money in comparison to ones that don’t insulate well. Double or triple glazing is a sensible investment, and if building from scratch it is worth looking at.
• Doors - choose eco friendly wood for your doors, without windows so as to prevent heat being lost, as it is a large surface area. The more durable your door is, the less likely it will lose energy from your own.
• Paint - use low VOC (volatile organic compounds) paint when you are decorating, in order to protect the environment and those living in the home. Choosing subtle colours when used in an exterior capacity can also benefit the environment by blending in and reducing visual pollution.
• Renewable Energy - one for the big parts of an eco friendly home is using renewable energy and keeping use of fossil fuel down is important. Investing in solar panels or if room permits a wind turbine is a long term eco friendly investment.

When it comes to designing your own eco friendly home, it is important that you choose something that is appropriate for the needs of you and your family. Having reduced energy costs and being more environmentally friendly through the means of eco home design is important; and in terms of the cost of living is something that should be strongly considered, however practicality of the home and it being appealing to you is also the biggest factor.

Looking into SIPS (Structural Insulated Panels) when undertaking a new build however is definitely worth discussing with your contractors as they help provide an eco friendly home design solution; as well as making the construction process quicker and easier.