Published on May 4th, 2017 | by Guest

Why Are Green Homes Essential To The Environment?

In recent years, there has been a rapid growth of green homes, especially in Canada. Several years ago, a survey by The Canada Green Building Council found that over half of the respondents indicated that 30% of their projects were green projects, while half of the respondents projected that number would grow to 60% by 2017.

There are many contributing factors to the rise in green homes, but the above survey found that the primary reason, according to a large majority of the respondents, was because of the greater health and well-being that is associated with green homes.

What is a Green Home?

A green home is a home that has been specifically designed to be environmentally-friendly and resource-efficient. This could include elements such as the design of the home, its construction and also its operation. In other words, a green home is specifically designed to conserve water and energy, improve air quality and may even be constructed with recycled or used materials. A green home is also one that uses environmentally-friendly appliances.

How To Have a Green Home

Although you may have a home that is constructed in more traditional ways, you can (and arguably should) still implement practices to make your home more eco-friendly. For example, you can:

Add Greenery

Plants absorb carbon dioxide and break it down into oxygen and carbon, therein contributing positively to our air quality. Grasses not only act as a natural coolant, being 31 degrees colder than asphalt, but the fact that grass also captures dust, smoke and other particles protects the quality of our air and water in the process.

Invest in Smart Technology

When it comes to smart technology, you have many available options for making your home greener through the process energy conservation. Smart thermostats, for example, can reduce your energy consumption by 20 percent. You could also invest in a variety of Energy Star appliances, from windows to washing machines to refrigerators, all of which can reduce your energy consumption by 10 to 50 percent.

Make Use of Solar Power

Solar power is a clean source of renewable energy. Whether you invest in solar panels, solar roof shingles or photovoltaic shingles, you will be contributing positively to the environment. An added benefit is that you will also lower your energy bills in the process.

You can also do energy efficient window installation in your home, to utilize more of solar power and lower your energy bills.

Other Ways

There are a lot of other little ways you can make your home greener on a daily basis. Doing full loads of both laundry and dishes (and using cold water), hanging your laundry to dry, installing LED light bulbs and using dimmers, supporting your local farmer’s markets, composting and staying diligent about any air or water leaks in your home all allow you to make your home a greener place on a daily basis.

Why Green Homes Are Important

The stark reality of the world that we live in is that it is not a sustainable place to live; we are already depleting many of our resources at alarming rates. Green homes do not only lessen our negative impact on the environment, but they offer many benefits, from better health to long-term savings.

Environmental Benefits

Using renewable energy sources means that you use less fossil fuels. The reduction in energy also means that you reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the process, which is a significant contributor to global warming. An Energy Star home, for example, can prevent 2000kg of greenhouse gases from entering the air each and every year.

Green homes also lead to greater water conservation through things like low flow faucets and rainwater harvesting, in addition to more efficient plumbing and irrigation systems.

Green homes are also constructed with recycled materials, which reduces waste in the process.

The fact that green homes are also more durable due to things like roofing materials (some that have 40 to 50 year warranties) means that the environmental impact is lessened and, in turn, homeowners save money on renovations.

Health

Green homes improve indoor air quality and therefore our health by extension. This is because green homes use low VOC paints that contain little to no formaldehyde, therein putting less stress on one’s immune and respiratory systems.

Green homes are also more efficient when it comes to ventilation, which means that you are exposed to harmful chemicals much less often. A well ventilated home is also much less prone to mold growth, therein reducing any possible negative health effects.

Greenhomes are also more comfortable places to be due to the improved ventilation, which, in turn, also reduces noise pollution.

Economic Benefits

The energy savings and therefore reduced operation costs lead to significant return on investment over time. Monthly utility bills, for example, are decreased due to the reduction of energy output, from improved insulation to more efficient appliances. Homes also increase in value by as much as 3 to 5 percent when they are green.

Green homes are the way of the future (and the way of today). Greatly reduce your environmental impact and improve your health in the process by investing in a green home.

Author Bio:

Anne Flemings loves interior designing and is always in pursuit of the latest changes and trends in home improvement. Her other interests lies in cooking, painting and blogging. She is an enthusiast homemaker who lives in Toronto with her husband and two kids. She can be followed on Twitter.

Tags: Environment, essential, green, homes