Energy Efficient Home Design Tips
Making an energy efficient home design can be challenging. This is especially among typical homeowners. However, it is well worth the effort. Having an energy efficient home will save you money and time by keeping energy costs at a minimum. You will also minimize your carbon footprint which is great for the environment. The following tips will help you when designing your dream home.
Insulation
Sufficient insulation is at the heart of every energy efficient home. Exterior walls, basement walls, floors, and atticshave to be adequately insulated. This will help you maximize energy efficiency and consequently cut down on the heating and cooling expenses.
Stormwater Control
Controlling where stormwater can be of great benefits as it allows you to diminish runoff. You can even use the stormwater for landscaping purposes. This way your water consumption can be significantly reduced. Also, the electricity used up in electronic sprinklers can be saved for other needs. A rain garden designed to trap rainwater and let it soak into the ground can prevent rainwater from becoming run-off and carrying
Window Options
There are numerous energy saving windows available in the market today. These windows are becoming more popular and affordable. The number of windows and the type you use in your home will significantly affect your cooling and heating costs during summer and winter months.
Solar Panels
Utilizing solar panels to power your home will help you both environmentally and economically. To entirely depend on solar energy also allows you to entirely or partially move off the national power grid.
Positioning Windows and Doors
The way you position the doors, and the windows will also affect the energy efficiency in your home. Windows and doors need to be placed in a way that they take full advantage of natural light during the day. This means having fewer windows on the north side of your home and more on the south. To disseminate direct sunlight, you can use windows that filter UV rays or solar screens.
Skylights
Skylights that are well-positioned will allow natural light into your home. This, in turn, reduces your dependency on artificial lighting more so during the day. Artificial light can be used only at night.
There are many energy efficient home design tips. These are just some of the tips that you need to incorporate into your home design to productively lower the carbon footprint and also save money. Energy efficient and use of alternative energy sources is the sure way of bringing an end to reliance on fossil fuels.