Sustainable house: Know what steps to take
Do you want a sustainable house, but don’t know how? In this article, you can follow some ideas to start a sustainable environment in your property, which will lead you to a healthier life and you can prove, in a short time, significant money-saving after the efficient change in your house. You can get to know the efficient level of your house through an evaluation made by a qualified expert (check this article to know more).
The first three words that we know in relation to sustainability, there are reduce, reuse and recycle. We all know the three R's and it is imperative to follow exactly what they tell us.
1. Reduce
To reduce you have to consider, at the time of buying items, if you really need to purchase them. Nowadays, people are increasingly aware of the fact that we buy more than we really need to live and are adopting minimalist lifestyles.
2. Reuse
You should always try to reuse everything you have, in other words, give your products a new life, but if you perhaps have no other use, you can always donate it to someone else.
3. Recycle
Finally, recycle in case you can't give a new life to what you've acquired. There are several containers strategically spread throughout the cities, so you can separate them according to the composition of the materials. By recycling, you will save on fossil fuel, as you spend less energy renewing something than making a new one.
There are a few tips to make your house more efficient and save you some money on your monthly invoices.
1. Electricity
One of the actions to be taken will be to replace conventional light bulbs with LED bulbs. It has a somewhat high initial cost, but it will compensate over time. LED lamps use 75% less energy than conventional ones and also have higher durability.
2. Water
One of the most common problems in homes and that does not help our planet at all, is the waste of water, whether it comes from dripping taps or from flushing toilets without double flushing. There's no better solution than taking a good look at every faucet in your home, changing the flush or considering a low flow shower that can save up to 50% of the water used in the bath.
3. Air conditioning
Due to excessive use of energy, you should always avoid electrical devices, when it comes to heating. As an alternative, there are fireplaces with heat recovery or fireplaces with pellet system - this is a sustainable system that results from the cleaning of forests or the waste of the wood industry.
If you are going to build a house from scratch, always pay attention to its orientation. A house facing south is more exposed to the sun and there is no need for artificial climate control. In summer, it is imperative that all windows are protected from the sun, such as blinds or deciduous vegetation in winter.
One of the most important things for energy efficiency is the insulation of a house, in other words, if this situation is not taken into account, there is no point to heat or cool the environment because there is a lot of thermal loss in your home.
4. Composting
A large part of the trash, more precisely 30%, is organic trash and it can go to an appropriate container for that, later you can use on your garden or vegetable garden. The composts for this practice can be fruit leftovers or vegetables, and general food, fabrics and sawdust. Only a composting container is needed, in a dry and without sunlight place. The compost can be used as a fertilizer to give nutrients to the soil, however, if you don’t have a garden or vegetable garden you can always donate or create a small business with this practice.
To get around the excessive price of some of the technologies that aim to end some of the energy efficiency problems in our homes, the Portuguese government launched a programme to support efficient homes. To learn more about this programme click here.