Want to join others in helping reduce your carbon footprint? You’ll want to start with automation and the material that it is made out of, as these two can play the biggest portion into how sustainable you are. From there, you can start to focus on items like solar panels and growing your own garden.

Here is everything you need to know about building an eco-friendly house.

Build the House With Recycled or Sustainable Material

If you have the option to build a house from scratch and want to be eco-friendly living from the start, you’ll want to utilize recycled or sustainable materials. This can be simple like sustainable wood for the frame of the home.

For the parts that need stubs and metal portions, see if you can source the steel from recycled materials. Often, these materials will end up saving you money as they don’t need to be produced from scratch.

Set Up Automation

Automation is one of the great ways to build an eco-friendly home while also saving you money. Forgetting to turn off the AC or lights can drive your energy usage up. Currently, cooling and heating your home accounts for roughly 51% of all home’s energy usage.

Automation can be a great way to help those times where you forget or when you want to maximize your efficiency in the home. You can run a routine with a smart thermostat to maximize your cooling without wasting energy. If you forgot to turn off the AC or the lights, you can open your phone and flick them off from anywhere.

By switching to smart lightbulbs, you’re also getting the benefits of LED lights that use less wattage.

Get Your Solar Panels

Solar panels have continued to drop over the years and the tax credits for getting them installed have been extended into 2022. It has never been cheaper to get into the solar game.

With solar panels, you’re often creating your own energy while using your electric companies power. You then send off that power for the electric company to use to offset your bill, which in certain areas of the country, can mean a bill that says $0. When you overproduce electricity, you’re also helping offset the energy companies need to use coal, natural gas, or oil.

If you’re looking to finance solar panels for your home, then be sure to check out the link.

Building an Eco-Friendly House Starts With the Simple Things

Building an eco-friendly house isn’t hard when you start with simple items. Not everyone will have the luxury to build their own home with recycled materials, but you can start by switching out your lightbulb or outlet with a smart device. These simple moves can add up and get you on the right track to being eco-friendly.

If you want to learn more about ways you can help the environment, then be sure to check out the rest of the blog. Know someone building their own home? Share this article with them they can also make a difference.

Jane