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You try your best to lower your impact on the environment in your everyday life. You bike to work instead of commuting by car. You invest in slow fashion from local, eco-friendly shops. You limit your use of disposable, single-use plastics, from bags to water bottles.
So, it’s only natural that you want your next house to be as green as possible. What green qualities should you look for?
A Strong Building Envelope
A strong building envelope means that the interior is effectively sealed from the outdoors. In the winter, cold temperatures won’t push their way into your house. In the summer months, the sweltering heat won’t turn all of the rooms into saunas.
How does this quality make a house green? When the interior temperature is stable all year round, you don’t have to worry about using extra energy to heat and cool the home. When a building’s envelope is weak, it’ll suffer from air leaks and temperature instability. So, you’ll have to crank up the heat in the winter and the AC in the summer just to stay comfortable.
How can you tell a house has a strong building envelope? Get an energy audit. The auditor can conduct a blower door test to confirm the airtightness of the house and look for vulnerabilities.
Energy-Efficient Systems
A strong building envelope isn’t the only quality you can look for to lower your daily energy use. You can also look for built-in, energy-efficient systems. A heat pump is a green alternative to a traditional HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) system. It uses less power to heat/cool your home, and it won’t run on fossil fuels like natural gas.
In the same vein, a tankless water heater is better than a traditional storage water heater. It uses less energy to heat water, so you don’t have to leave your shower running for minutes on end before it’s warm enough to step in.
Household appliances like dishwashers, refrigerators, cook ranges, washing machines and dryers can also be energy efficient. When you’re touring the property, look for the Energy Star label on the appliances that could come with the house’s purchase. This label proves that the items are certified as energy efficient.
Natural Materials
Another hallmark of a green house is the use of natural, sustainable building materials. For instance, cork is an excellent flooring material because it is durable, comfortable and stylish. It would make a great option for kitchens and bathrooms. Cork is harvested from trees, but the harvesting process does not permanently damage the trees. It is a completely renewable resource.
What are some other materials to look for?
- Bamboo
- Natural stone
- Reclaimed wood
How Can You Find a Green House?
Get the right real estate brokerage! A brokerage like Harvey Kalles Real Estate can help you find the perfect fit for your priorities. So, if environmentalism and energy efficiency are the top qualities on your wish list for a new house, your agent is going to find you locations that will meet that criteria and then some. All you have to do is let your real estate agent know ahead of time so they can comb through their listings to find the best matches.
Don’t settle for a house that doesn’t meet your needs. Find the green home of your dreams.