How to Build an Energy Efficient Home
Building a new home is exciting… but building an energy-efficient home is something else! With the cost of living continuing to increase, finding ways to save money, but also contributing to saving energy is becoming the new norm. But exactly what does it mean to have an energy-efficient home?
To put it simply, it is any effort made to improve energy productivity and achieve the same outcomes while using fewer resources. These tips will help you on your way to building your dream home, whilst also making your contribution to saving energy and in turn helping save the planet.
Building Orientation
Understanding key elements such as sun, wind, and rain will assist you in deciding where your new home should be located. The heating and cooling requirements of your home are heavily influenced by not only the shape of your home but also the orientation.
You want to take advantage of the sun in winter, whilst also focusing on keeping the house cooler in summer. Positioning rooms you will spend a lot of time in towards the north to maximise sun and light exposure, and positioning rooms where less time is spent in the south is key. This way you are using the weather conditions to your advantage and not having to turn on appliances to heat or cool the house. As you can imagine, this will significantly increase the energy efficiency of your home.
Insulation
Making your home as airtight as possible will mean you retain more heat in winter and more cool air in summer. In addition, it is also a very cost-effective measure you can take to improve energy efficiency. Ideally, you want to be installing insulation in the ceiling, and in both your external and internal wall cavities and floors of your home. This will create, what is known as, a sealed envelope. A good way to think of it is that insulation acts ‘like a thermos’ in winter and ‘like an esky’ in summer.
Appliances and Electronics
Selecting products in the market that are energy efficient will continue to improve the energy efficiency of your home. A key tip when it comes to shopping for your new appliances, is searching on the ENERGY STAR Product Finder. Other aspects you should take into consideration are ensuring the products you are buying are suited to your needs, particularly the size. Deciding on a microwave oven, which is significantly more energy efficient than electric or gas ovens, is a small adjustment to make that sees long term positive effects. Even just air drying your clothes instead of investing in a clothes dryer will save an immense amount of energy.
Lighting
A key feature in creating an energy efficient home is minimising energy use or lighting and instead utilising natural light. Obviously, it isn’t completely practical to rely on natural lightning all year round, particularly in winter when days are dark and gloomy. Therefore, you want to find the perfect balance.
Using LED lights are not only more energy efficient but also last longer and don’t contain any mercury. A balance between natural light usage and LED lights will create an energy efficient solution to lighting throughout your new home.
Building an energy efficient home will save you money but also see you achieve a goal many have, reducing your energy usage on a daily basis. These tips will assist you in doing that, whilst not having you make huge life adjustments. These are simple solutions that won’t break the bank and will see you enjoying life in your energy efficient home for years to come.
