How To Make Your Home More Sustainable: A 7-Step Guide That’s Easy On The Planet & High On Style

Can eco-friendly homes be both stylish and sustainable? Yes, with careful planning.

Having a home that leaves a light footprint on the planet need not come at the expense of modern comforts or well-considered design.

The key is carefully considering every element of the design and build to ensure your living experience is both aesthetically pleasing and eco-friendly. Here’s some practical advice on how to create a smarter home that looks good and is easy on the planet.

1. Making the most of Mother Nature

It’s important to understand your site and surroundings. Carefully consider your home’s position in response to the sun and the prevailing wind.

Use the home’s orientation to take full advantage of the breeze, providing natural ventilation and reducing the need for electrical-powered cooling systems.

When you’re designing a home or planning a renovation, there’ll be other considerations such as views, terrain, vegetation, street access and noise.

You’ll need to balance these against the benefits you can achieve through harnessing the sun’s energy for heating and breezes for cooling.

Think about the type of housing that will work for you and your family now, and in the future, and incorporate this into your home or renovation design.

Opting for a smaller site may allow you to buy more house for your money in the location you want. This is because the land component of the purchase price of a property is typically half or more of the value.

There is an upside to having a compact home on a small piece of land. A large section requires considerable maintenance, which doesn’t suit everybody.

With busy lifestyles, or extended periods away from home, you may decide that you would rather have a smaller, lower maintenance section, or no section at all.

“A small home can still be beautiful and expansive and generous. You don’t need a large site to create these feelings,” says designer Oli Booth.

3. Mindful material selection

There are many different material types and ways of building. Carefully consider the type of construction and building materials, as they all have pros and cons.

Take advantage of modern-day advances in the thermal qualities of materials, such as Litecrete, a lightweight precast concrete manufactured using local pumice aggregate that gives it increased thermal performance.

Properly designed with maximum exposure to winter sun over the middle of the day, the slab will absorb energy from the sun during the day and then radiate that warmth out as the temperature drops in the evenings.

This makes a home more energy efficient by reducing its need for heating in the winter.

4. Harnessing and controlling the sun’s energy

Installing a grid of solar panels that convert the sun’s energy into electricity is worth considering. The upfront expense can be high (although the cost is coming down all the time) if they are positioned correctly they will provide cheap — if not free — power with minimal maintenance for 20 to 30 years.

Solar shading will help prevent the sun from overheating the house in summer. Ideally, the sun shading device should be on the outside of the window.

Shading devices inside a closed glass window will still allow heat to get in. These include curtains, blinds and interior plantation shutters. Also, sun shading devices that still allow ample natural ventilation are best for sub-tropical climates.

5. Don’t let that sky juice go to waste

Rainwater harvesting systems ensure that every drop is used thoughtfully and efficiently. If your property isn’t connected to a mains water supply, or is located a long way from the mains supply, rainwater may be the most viable water supply option.

Even if you’re connected to the mains, you may want to consider using rainwater for your garden or for other household uses. By doing this, you may be able to reduce your demand on mains water supply and, in some areas, water charges.

If you have space, installing a rainwater tank is relatively simple and inexpensive, and the benefits are ongoing. After all, rainwater is a free, perpetually renewing water supply. Rainwater can also be used for washing your clothes, flushing the toilet, and — if it’s properly treated — for drinking and other household uses.

6. Use salvaged materials where possible

Make your home, and the planet, more beautiful by reusing and recycling materials whenever you can.

These salvaged bricks in soft earthy tones look good — and they serve a purpose as a building material with thermal mass.

Waiheke Island-based architect Vaughn Mcquarrie said the owners of this home on the island discovered these bricks, which were destined for landfill, while they were visiting Auckland City.

“They brought them back to the island and lovingly cleaned each one,” he says.

7. A healthy home is a dry home

High moisture levels make your home uncomfortable to live in. Getting rid of what’s causing moisture is important as a damp home encourages the growth of mould, fungi, dust mites and mildew, which can be harmful to health.

It also makes your home harder to heat, and your power bills will be higher. High moisture levels can be caused by moisture getting into the home from outside — especially from leaks and damp ground beneath the house.

It’s also released from household activities such as showering washing, cooking and even breathing.

Other sources of moisture are from unflued gas heaters and inadequate heating and ventilation.

You can find out more about this, and other planet-friendly advice, on the government’s Building Performance website Smarterhomes.org.nz.

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