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5 Novel Things You Can Do to build a green Home for Yourself

When you’re a building a home for yourself the initial excitement gradually fades away in the plethora of different decisions you need to take. So much so, that when it is time for you to take decisions on the energy efficiency aspects of your home, you simple end up overlooking the important aspects of the same. Adding a few green features in your home is the surest way towards lower energy costs and greater water conservation.

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Apart from the usual, LED & CFL Lighting, Energy Star Appliances, HVAC Systems upgrade, and even Landscaping initiatives, the following are what you can do to protect the environment as well as make your house more marketable for reselling purposes.

Programmable thermostats

Since half of one’s electricity Bills goes in heating and cooling, getting a programmable thermostat is an intelligent way to go green and save a lot on your energy bills. Program your thermostat to 68 degrees in winter and 78 degrees in the summer so as to kick start your HVAC systems only when these designated temperatures are reached. One can also go for a 5-1-1, a 5-2 or a 7 day programmable thermostat  in order to set different needs for Weekdays and Weekend respectively.

Low flow Plumbing Fixtures

Another way to go green is via the water conservation route. Adding low flow faucets, shower heads and specially toilets would help in saving a huge chunk of your water bill costs. Toilets, which account for 26% of your home water usage, are usually in the 1.6 gallons per flush mode while the new high efficiency one use 1.28 gpf resulting in the saving of almost 3000 gallons of water per toilet per year.

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Energy Efficient Windows

Going for a green window while building your new home is a novel way towards higher energy efficiency. What you need to understand is the U Factor or thermal transmission and the solar heat gain ratings, all of which tells you how much heat you’re losing in winter and gaining during summer. The easy way out is to simply go by the Energy Star Ratings for the best eco-friendly window suited to your climatic needs.

Tankless Water Heater

Think about it, when you wait on a winter morning for the  shower water to heat up, not only are you paying for the cold water running out form your drain but also the energy bill for heating. Tankless Water heaters give you instant hot water since it passes through an electric coil.

Proper insulation

Since half your energy bills are for the heating and cooling purposes, proper insulation during constructing a new home is the most important and the best way towards maximum energy efficiency and minimum bills. While you can choose form fiberglass, foam, celluloid, etc types of insulation what is more important is to get the right person to do it who would use infrared camera to check gaps or holes so that you home can become an insulated fortress.

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