Your Guide to How Home Sustainability Is Changing

Did you know that the size of the global sustainability and green technology market had a value of $10.32 billion in the year 2020? Additionally, this market is expected to have a value of $74.64 billion by the year 2030. It is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 21.9% between 2021 and 2030.

Considering the growth this market is experiencing; you might be wondering how to make this market part of your own home by using home sustainability methods.

However, if you don’t know how home sustainability is changing, you might feel stressed. How do you know which strategies to use if you don’t have the right information?

Fortunately, in this article, we’ll review the biggest home sustainability trends. Finally, you can ensure that you’re living the greenest life possible in your home. Read on to learn more.

Window Replacement

One of the stainable home design strategies you can use is to replace your home’s windows. If your windows are 15 years old or older, or you notice a bit of draftiness close to them, it’s time for a replacement. This way, you can improve your home’s thermal performance.

We recommend getting windows that are triple- or double-glazed and that are Energy Star-rated. These will provide extra comfort and provide you with an energy efficiency boost.

You should also think about R-values. The higher a window’s R-value, the better that window will perform in terms of insulation.

Additionally, consider U-values. The lower a window’s U-value, the better that window will be at insulating.

Energy-Saving Light Bulbs

Another one of our sustainable home ideas is to replace your current light bulbs with energy-saving light bulbs. People also refer to these light bulbs with the name compact fluorescent light bulbs. These bulbs, compared to incandescent light bulbs, use around five times less energy.

Additionally, they usually last longer. So, in addition to saving energy, you’ll save money when you make the switch!

Turning Off Your Lights

Even if you don’t have one of the fanciest green homes available, you can still make your home green by turning off your lights every time you leave a room. When you leave your home, check to be sure that lights are off—as well as any appliances that don’t need to stay on while you’re away.

Task Lighting

Another trend that people follow to make their homes more sustainable is task lighting. When you use this strategy, you have lights you use for specific tasks. This is instead of a stronger light that wastefully lights up the entirety of a room.

For example, if you like to read in your living room, you don’t have to turn a light on to light up the entire room when you read. Instead, you can have a small lamp by the couch where you read.

Natural Daylight

Sustainable home builders know the importance of natural daylight. They’ll build homes with windows that let in a lot of light and build around those windows so that the light pours in and lights up your home. This makes electric lighting far less necessary.

Even if you aren’t doing a big renovation to let more natural daylight in, you can use some strategies to allow natural daylight into your home. For one thing, you can not block your windows (with couches or chairs).

You can also make the windows in the rooms of your home the focal points of each room.

Using Fewer Spotlights

Even though spotlights are popular for use in bathrooms and kitchens, they aren’t especially sustainable lights. This is even the case if you’re utilizing energy-efficient bulbs for your spotlights. So if you want to save energy, simply use fewer of these.

However, if having spotlights in your home is important to you, you can make them slightly more green by switching to LED bulbs.

Disposing of Bulbs Correctly

When you’re replacing the bulbs in your home, it’s important to dispose of them correctly. They’re household hazards. For this reason, you should check local municipality guidelines to understand how to dispose of specific light bulb types.

Because light bulbs have mercury in them (a tiny amount), disposing of them the wrong way can be damaging to the environment. Ensure you know how to dispose of the bulbs and never put them in a recycling or trash bin.

Reducing Temperature

Another way people make their homes more sustainable is by reducing the temperature. By switching from 22 degrees Celsius to 18 degrees Celsius, you can save on natural gas by around 6.5%. If this seems like it’s too cold, you can always wear an extra pair of socks or a sweater.

Using Radiator Values

Do you live in an older home? If so, it’s possible that your home has radiators in it. In this case, using radiator values can help in controlling the temperature within rooms that you aren’t currently using—which in turn helps you save energy.

This way, instead of having your radiators blast heat throughout your entire home, you can control exactly where the heat is coming from. Radiator valves are affordable and easy to install.

Using Programmable Thermostats

Another strategy you can utilize to make your home more sustainable is to use programmable thermostats. With these thermostats, you’ll be able to track how much energy you’re using and wasting in your home. By using this technology, you could end up saving 20% on annual energy costs.

Effective Insulation

One of the best ways of making a home sustainable is by having effective insulation. If you don’t know how well-insulated your home is, it’s worth checking out the insulation and upgrading it if necessary. Do you have radiators in your home?

In this case, we recommend that you think about putting insulation behind your radiators. This will help in reducing heat loss that’s caused by leaks and gaps.

Another area where you might need to upgrade your insulation is your attic. The insulation depth should be approximately 14 inches.

If it isn’t, upgrade your attic so that this is the amount of insulation you have in it. When an attic is well-insulated, you can save on a third of a home’s heating costs.

Natural Insulation Options

Note that if you want to be even more green, you can go for natural insulation options. These include grass, wood fiber, cellulose, and hemp. Many of these options are safe to handle and biodegradable, unlike more traditional fiberglass-based insulation.

Some of these natural options will also help with humidity control. They absorb moisture (when it’s humid) and release it (when it’s drier). If you’re thinking of making this change, speak with an insulation expert.

Adding Chimney Balloons

Another way to make your home more sustainable is by adding chimney balloons. If there’s a fireplace that isn’t insulated properly or doesn’t work, this can cause a large amount of heat to exit your home. A chimney balloon fixes this problem.

This solution will keep unwanted cold air from coming into your home. It will also help to keep warm air from your home going out through the chimney.

Double-Glazing Windows

Did you know that the average home, through its doors and windows, loses a maximum of 30% of its cooling and heating energy? So if your windows leak out any of the air in your home, you’re going to end up having higher energy costs.

If the windows in your home have been around for more than ten years, you can replace them to significantly cut down on higher cooling and heating bills. All you have to do is replace your windows or upgrade them.

To upgrade single-glazed windows, change them to double-glazed windows.

Draft-Proofing Your Home’s Doors

Another way you can make your home green is by draft-proofing its doors. By adding a draft excluder to each window and door, you can end up saving around 20% of your home’s energy costs. There are DIY options that are affordable, too.

Using the Right Curtains

Sometimes, you can combine being green with being fashionable. By buying curtains that have a liner that’s heavy, you’ll be able to retain heat in your home when it’s cold outside. Note that if you aren’t in the market for new curtains, you can always purchase another inexpensive pair.

Then, you can use that cheaper pair of curtains as a liner for the curtains you already have.

Covering Your Home’s Mail Slot

While many people cover different areas of their home so that air doesn’t escape or come in, they’ll often forget about one of the most common places where drafts occur: the mail slot. Even if the rest of your home is sealed up, air can come in through there.

Fortunately, you can cover it up. You can do this with flexible bristles or a magnetic seal (which will be a constant seal).

Stopping Drafty Floorboards

Another area where drafts can seep through is your floorboards. Fortunately, there are solutions to this problem. You can use hardboard, underlay, or non-toxic sealants so you can save both energy and money.

Green Roofs

One of the biggest home sustainability trends these days is green roofs. They’re part of many different apartments and homes and are common in sustainable communities. One of the most eco-friendly ways of retiling your roof is to use reclaimed tiles.

There are light-colored clay tiles available these days that offer cool roof system benefits.

There are many recycled shingles these days that are made of rubber, wood fiber, and plastic. These mimic recycled cedar shakes and slate.

These are all great options for roofing, whether you’re planning on DIYing your green roof or having a professional create one for you.

Solar Water Heaters

Another great home sustainability strategy is to have a solar-powered water heater. This way, instead of using up energy that isn’t sustainable, you can use the natural sun’s energy to heat the water in your home.

The great news is that these days, it’s pretty common for water heaters to come with this feature. Give your energy provider a call to find out what your options are.

The average amount you’ll save if you make the switch to a solar-powered water heater is 50% to 80% on your water heating bills.

There are also sustainable home developments that use solar power. For example, there’s Babcock Ranch, which has a solar farm that powers its development. Learn more at Babcockranch.com.

Installing Sustainable Flooring

One of the best ways to ensure that reclaimed wood that’s been salvaged from older buildings or structures like barns doesn’t end up rotting in the landfill is to use this reclaimed wood for flooring in newer homes or homes that are being renovated.

This is also better for the environment because it’s a great alternative to using new flooring. New flooring, in addition to having to go through the manufacturing process, contains harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

Sustainable flooring options include recycled glass, cork, and bamboo. They also include carpets (if you’re looking for them instead of hard flooring). These carpets are made from recycled tires and plastic bottles.

Want to Learn More About Home Sustainability?

Now that you’ve learned about different home sustainability trends you can implement, you might want to learn even more. Maybe you want to understand how to install a green roof, for example, or you want to figure out how to select the right sustainable flooring for your home.

Whatever information you need, you can find it on our website. Simply go to the Real Estate & Home section of our blog, where you can learn about how to make your home more sustainable than ever.

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