Making your home Eco friendly is a decision made by many homeowners.
To ensure you achieve the goal to getting an Eco-friendly home, there are many materials and methods that will yield improved energy efficiency, sustainability and functionality.
Achieving this is a commitment that will potentially produce great outcomes which would initially involve tons of research, diligence and often additional funds. But even basic green measures can make a difference in how much resources your home consumes.
Here are just 4 of many methods that can kick start you Eco-friendly home and save you money while at it.
- Only build or rent as much space as necessary.
Limiting the space you build on would go a long way towards saving money on the immediate and future costs of your project. Aside from the cost savings, you will realize the long-term savings in cooling or even heating, depending on the climate of where your home is located.
Not to mention the time you’ll save cleaning the house.
Think through whether you really need that extra bedroom, extra bath and extra sink. How often will they be used? If they’re for infrequent guests or occasional parties, you may want to rethink the extra square footage. Often when considering to down size, storage is always a question on all residence minds. However there are many storage solutions that you can implement to manage space in your home.
- Buy high energy-efficient appliances.
Look for the Energy Star label on dishwashers, fridges, lighting fixtures, irons, kettles, coffee machines and other electrical appliances.
It will shock you to how much you save by purchasing a new energy-efficient refrigerator and saying goodbye to that 10 year old one.
- Solar Panels
A 5 Bedroom Detached House in Lekki, Lagos, can be powered exclusively by Solar Energy for a month, without a single glitch. This covers all AC’s and other heavily electrically powered appliances.
What’s more, the price of Solar Energy is considerably cheaper than generators. Look out for a rapid increase in the number of houses being powered by Solar Energy, particularly in Lagos and Abuja.
Green estate, a development by Blue Camel Energy Ltd, in Abuja, has apartments powered by wind and solar energy.
- Buy locally produced materials.
You may be tempted to search far and wide for the materials you require for remodeling your home, however, consider the environmental and material costs involved before you have these shipped across the country or across the world.
There are often locally produced alternatives that would serve the intended purpose.
Choose well-vetted materials that will hold up well and are unlikely to go out of style. This will ensure that your remodel lasts for decades.
*Image is sourced from a third party.