HomeMoversPack 2020

14
GOING GREEN
www.homemoverspack.co.uk
What is an eco-home?
Growing consciousness around environmental health has led to an increase in the building
and development of “eco”, “eco-friendly” and “green” homes. But what exactly is an
eco-home? There is no single definition, but in basic terms, an eco-home, by design and
construction, minimises its environmental impact. This could mean the house is designed
to use minimal energy and/or replaces the ecology lost when the house is built through, for
instance, including a green roof.
Here, we set out the key elements to creating an eco-friendly home.
When designing an eco-home, it’s worth deciding what you want to achieve: reduced
energy bills, a healthier internal environment or a more sustainable way of living, perhaps?
An eco-house could include some or all of the following:
Smart technology
Making your home a smart home can reduce your
home’s energy consumption without you having to
do a thing. These technologies are now becoming
increasingly affordable and effortless to install.
Smart thermostats can regulate the temperature
in your home and adjust this based on your daily
routine, turning the heat off whilst you’re at work
and back on before you’re due home. Similarly,
smart lighting can turn off lights you’ve forgotten
you left on or be programmed to your routine.
Insulation
Insulation is a key component of sustainable
building and creating a greener home. Improving
the thermal performance of your home will not
only help to dramatically reduce your bills, but
also your carbon emissions too. There is also now
a wide variety of natural, eco-friendly alternatives
to traditional insulation materials, which often
contain high amounts of problematic chemicals
and additives. Sheep’s wool, cotton, cork and
recycled plastic are all excellent insulators and are
renewable, non-toxic and biodegradable too.
Eco-home materials
Eco building materials are becoming more and
more popular due to a variety of reasons including
price and accessibility. Materials used can range
widely, depending on the scope of the project,
but can include timber, natural stone, slate, LED
lighting, solar panels and less of a focus on uPVC
and other plastics.
Plenty of natural light
South-facing windows provide natural daylight, and
the sun’s rays help keep rooms warmer in winter.
If you want more light, add insulated windows to
the home’s south side-unless you live in the desert
or an extremely hot climate, where more windows
could present heat problems. Shading windows in
summer protects against overheating.
Renewable energy
Solar, wind, water and geothermal are all renewable
forms of energy. Although installing solar panels
or a wind generator is a fabulous goal, it may
not be attainable immediately if you have budget
constraints. A great immediate solution is to buy
wind-generated or other renewable power from
your local utility-it may be as simple as marking a
little box on your energy bill to sign up