How to Build an Environmentally Friendly House

Building an environmentally friendly house is one of the best things you can do to reduce your impact and design for the future. With strategic planning, high quality materials and some innovative thinking, your new home can be the eco-friendly retreat you’ve been dreaming of. There’s lots to consider when it comes to building sustainable homes. If you aren’t an expert then you’re probably wondering how to build an environmentally friendly house. In this article we’ll go over our top 10 eco-friendly design principles and how they can help you craft a cleaner, greener future for your family.

1. Design for Eco-Friendly Principles

Building an environmentally friendly house begins with your design. You can include all the insulation and passive cooling you want, but it won’t mean much if you don’t design around your eco-friendly ideals. Think about your core goals upfront and then work with your Sydney home builder to design a home that meets your needs. That may mean designing a smaller, more efficient home, or it might mean building upwards to take advantage of things like the sea breeze.

The way you design your home largely depends on your budget and the local climate. Your builder will be able to provide the advice you need if you’re looking to design an environmentally friendly home.

2. Choose Sustainable Materials

There are plenty of things you can do to build a house that’s environmentally friendly. But you’ll only see the real benefits of your design philosophy if you choose sustainable construction materials wherever possible. In many cases, the amount of energy required to create new construction materials far outweighs their benefit to the environment. Instead, opting for recycled materials like timber, glass, insulation and plastics can significantly reduce the carbon footprint of your new home.

3. Invest in Quality Insulation

Insulation is one of the most important pieces of the puzzle. The insulation in your walls and ceiling will keep you cool in summer and warm in winter. That means you’ll be comfortable year round, and it means you won’t be consuming energy on unnecessary heating and cooling.

Home insulation is a complex topic. The right amount of insulation depends on your location, the local climate, your home’s layout and dozens of other factors. You’ll need to talk to your custom home builder and ask for their input on the right insulation schedule for your new home.

4. Passive Heating and Cooling

Passive heating and cooling is designed to use natural air flow and the sun’s warmth to regulate the temperature inside your home. Done correctly, a passive heating system can keep your home comfortable throughout the year, minimising the need to run your air conditioner. The challenge of passive heating is that it typically needs to be built into your home’s design. Things like the placement of windows, prevailing winds, the sun’s path through the sky and your home’s orientation can all make an impact. While it might be tricky to design with passive heating and cooling in mind, the result can be a huge boost to your green credentials.

5. Consider Window Placement

Natural lighting has been the focal point of home design for decades. The right window placement can make a huge difference to the look and feel of your internal spaces. But you’ll need to be selective about where you choose to install glazing. A well placed window can bring light and warmth into the centre of your home. A poorly placed window might just capture heat from the sun, making your living spaces unbearably hot. When designing a glazing plan, think carefully about the sun’s path through the sky and how you can maximise light without impacting your passive cooling.

6. Keep the Sun at Bay

The heat of Australia’s summer months is the biggest challenge in environmentally friendly house design. One of the best things you can do to reduce your impact is to find innovative ways to keep the sun from heating up the external walls and roof of your home.

This is often done using patio roofs, entertaining areas and creative landscaping, but modern features like green roofs are also a good option. Greenery can have a serious impact on your cooling bills. Gardens and trees provide shade, reduce heat reflection and retain moisture that can keep your home and yard feeling comfortable.

7. Install Water Saving Fixtures

Australians are no strangers to water saving features. As a drought-prone country, many of us already have efficient water fixtures installed in our homes. Building an environmentally friendly house is your chance to take things a step further. In addition to efficient taps and shower heads, you’ll have the chance to install rainwater tanks, grey water recycling systems and more. The long-term water savings these features provide far outweigh the expense, and they’ll allow you to greatly reduce the environmental impact of your new home.

8. Design with Solar Power in Mind

Solar systems have revolutionised the way we generate household electricity. Solar power not only saves you money over the lifetime of the system, but it also significantly decreases your home’s energy consumption.

When building an environmentally friendly house from the ground up, you have the chance to design with solar power in mind. The right design will allow you to maximise the amount of power your solar panels generate and gives you the chance to consider additional systems like solar batteries, EV charging and more.

9. Focus on the Longevity of Your Home

When building an environmentally friendly home, it’s easy to get caught up in details like solar power, insulation and passive cooling. But it’s important to remember that the house itself also represents a huge investment of energy. The amount of power required to produce materials and construct the home can far outweigh any savings you make through smart design. So, it’s always important to use high quality materials and design with longevity in mind. Even if it’s not your forever home, building a house that will still be standing in 50 years is the best thing you can do to reduce your impact and design with the environment in mind.

10. Discuss Your Goals with Your Builder

There are thousands of details and design decisions that go into building an environmentally friendly house. If your aim is to craft a home that’s efficient, you’ll need to discuss your goals with your builder. Your builder will have access to industry contacts that can help with things like passive heating and cooling, insulation schedules, landscaping and more. These details add up, and expert support is the best way to build a home that will deliver the eco-friendly experience you’re looking for.

Talk to SSR Projects About How to Build an Environmentally Friendly House!

There are thousands of details that go into building an environmentally friendly house. From major features like the home’s orientation and layout to minor details like water saving fixtures, eco-friendly design is a complex topic. If you’re getting ready to build a new home or home extension and you want to look into environmentally friendly options, get in touch with SSR Projects! SSR Projects is a custom home builder based in Sydney. We specialise in crafting homes with high quality materials and considered designs that our clients love. Whether you want to take advantage of ocean views, design for the future or build an environmentally friendly house, we can help. Get in touch with us today to make an appointment with our team!