Sometimes, it feels as if the world is in a dilemma of how to carry out essential activities yet keep the earth sustainable. These activities include creating and disposing of waste, building houses, heating systems, manufacturing essential goods and more. All these activities are necessary to sustain human life but at the same time, they can negatively impact the environment.
This is why it is critical to balance things. While you may want to build a home, you must bear in mind how it affects the environment; same goes for all other activities. We must always find solutions and ways to ensure that our planet is preserved.
For homeowners who intend to build one, a way to do so is to build green and sustainable homes. A green building is one that is energy efficient and makes use of sustainable and recyclable materials in its construction.
It does not stop there. Every home construction starts with a design or blueprint which are called house plans. Consequently, a sustainable structure begins with a sustainable design.
How To Get A Sustainable House Plan
House plans are typically drawn by architects or house designers. They are drawings that specify how a building must be constructed. In some way, they work as a manual to give direction to builders and construction workers.
Blueprints usually will have sub-plans that depict every section of the building. These include the floor plans, foundation, roof, perspectives as well as cross-sectional areas. It also shows the elevations and other necessary features of the structure like the position and dimensions of walls.
You cannot construct a building without a house plan. Else, you will keep having issues and will need to keep chopping and changing. This will amount to a waste of time and resources.
There are pre-drawn house plans that you can buy online. You can find a Truoba 2 bedroom house plans design online that will look like it was designed with you in mind. If not, with a few customizations done to your specifications, you can get exactly what you want.
Asides from being modern and sustainable, these designs are functional and futuristic. They take into account your needs while helping to shape the future of the planet as regards climate change. The beautiful thing about them is that they are flexible. Meaning, you can tweak them to fit your lifestyle and taste.
You have the choice of removing or adding features based on what you desire. If you do not find any suitable one or you prefer to customize yours, it is not a problem. You can find architects or designers to work with and they will be glad to help you out with your home design.
Factors to Consider in Order to Build a Sustainable House
Proper Orientation
To maximize the efficiency of your home, you need to pay attention to its orientation and positioning. This enables it to leverage what is referred to as passive design. That is, it brings about passive cooling and heating where you get free energy through natural means.
This can be based on natural factors such as the sun’s pathway or the direction of the wind. Your home is cooler during hot weather and it is warmer during the cold. With this, you will require less energy to make it cooler or warmer. Another thing that this does is to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emissions in your home.
Good Insulation
Heating is perhaps the activity that requires the most energy in a home. Asides from designing your house in a way that maximizes natural means of heating, you should also invest in good insulation. Over the years, there has been an improvement in this and you can get a wide variety of materials to use.
You should insulate your walls, roof and floors using natural or recyclable materials that deflect heat. You may also employ the use of geothermal power. Although this comes as a significant investment upfront, you will surely enjoy its dividends.
Build A Flexible House
Your family’s size will most likely change over the course of time depending on the stage of your life. You should aim to build a structure that is flexible and will accommodate this change with very little disruption.
You can start by designing your home in anticipation of when your children will leave. Your parents may move in with you or any other possible situation. You can reduce the cost of renovation and on the environment by preparing for that now.
Conclusion
A sustainable house begins from its design. You need to factor in all that you need to make it energy-efficient and reduce your carbon footprint. You can get this online or seek out architects to customize it to suit your tastes.
