5 Steps to Creating a Sustainable Home

Sustainability in its truest form is the capacity to endure. With ongoing debates surrounding climate change and green energy the focus of building new and redeveloping existing homes has shifted towards how to become more sustainable.  You don’t have to be a die-hard green fanatic to create a sustainable home, and deep down, everyone wants to create a safe, sustainable living environment.

In order to do this, you just need to become a little more aware of how certain materials and designs can affect energy usage. Awareness is free and more often than not the materials are just as cheap!

How to Create a Sustainable Home

Here we highlight 5 steps to creating a sustainable home:

1. Nature & Energy Usage

Energy is used throughout your home in many different forms and appliances so make sure you think about the heating, air conditioning, lighting, and hot water. Knowing when to use nature to help you be sustainable is the first step.  The spring and summer months should allow you not to use any form of heating and you can take advantage of the extended seasonal day light hours by not using electricity. This can cut annual consumption by around 25%.

2. Manage your water usage

According to the AWWA (American Water Works Association) the daily indoor per capita water use is 69.3 gallons. If this figure is combined together with the rest of the population then it adds up to a substantial amount. Consider installing low flow toilet to save water or even more extreme a compost toilet as they do not use water for flushing at all!

Alternatively you could collect and recycle rain water via rainwater tanks as this can aid self-sufficiency, providing aback-up supply in case of water restrictions.

Our Grey Water System

3. Being materialistic is sometimes good

Knowing about materials can help you reduce the energy used when building or redeveloping your home. Materials such as Straw has been used as a building material for centuries, but not many people know it is cheap and can be used to insulate your property which can increase heat retention whilst possibly being the most cost effective thermal insulation available.

You can read more about using a mixture of clay and straw to insulated your home here;

http://planetaryrenewal.org/ipr/insulation.html

4. Not just a pretty design

The actual design of your home can have a significant impact on how sustainable you can be in the long term. Not many people know that the specific climate zone you’re in can be utilised by implementing appropriate design elements to condition and heat the home. If you are in the pre-build stage then good orientation (building your house in the right direction) increases the energy efficiency of a home by up to 40%. If your home is already built than implementing new features such as skylights can be very effective. Skylights can admit more than three times as much light as a vertical window and can be used to heat a home.

Check out this excellent article on the elements of an energy efficient house from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory;

http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy00osti/27835.pdf

5. Outside Inside

The outside of your home is an extension of your interior and what better way to make it work for you than hydrophonic gardening. Hydroponics is a system that grows any produce in small spaces, including window sills and spaces near a light source. If you can grow your own vegetables and herbs then you are one step closer to becoming sustainable.

Think how you can create a more sustainable living space; even if you have to start off small, every change has an impact.

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Ten Ways to Create an Eco Friendly Home

Living in an eco-friendly home doesn’t mean you have to transform your pad into a tree house. Even if you are restricted to a tight budget, there are ways you can help to protect the environment. The smallest of changes can make a big difference and still save you cash. There is no better time than now for going green. You can reduce your carbon footprint without sacrificing your comfort by following the 10 tips listed below.

10 Ways to Make an Eco Home

1. Energy Saving Light Bulbs

Manufacturers have replaced the traditional incandescent light bulbs with energy saving, compact fluorescent, light bulbs. These new compact light bulbs are brighter, last longer and are available in a variety of sizes. The other solution available is LED Lamps

2. Save on Heat Cost

When the weather turns cold, you want your home to remain warm inside. A poorly insulated home loses much of its heat through the roof and the walls. Replace the old insulation with new and improved insulation to save on energy and reduce your heating bills.

3. Decrease Use of Tumble Dryer

Tumble dryers are energy guzzlers that use a large amount of electricity. Whenever possible, hang your laundry outside and let air dry on a clothesline. Within a month, you should see a huge reduction in your electrical bill.

4. Fit Aerators to your Taps

Stop letting your hard earned money go down the drain. Reduce your water bill by fitting aerators to your taps. These energy saving gadgets work by mixing the water flow with air. Your taps will have a fuller flow, but less water usage. If you are replacing your old taps, buy new ones that are already fitted with aerators. To save even more on your water bill, replace your regular toilet with a low flow toilet that uses less water with each flush.

5. Solar Panels

Fit solar panels to your home to save on energy and lower your electrical bill. Solar panels work by harnessing the sun’s energy and converting it into electricity. Investing in solar panels can be expensive, so consider the benefits and possible savings before purchasing.

6. Draft Proof your Home

Cold air flowing through your home can quickly raise your energy bill. Draft proof your home by sealing off all door and windows where the cold air can come in from. You can easily find the supplies you need for sealing a home at all Do-It-Yourself stores.

7. Double Glazing

To help lower the cost of your heating bill, have your home fitted with double glazing. These are two layer glass windows with a spacer between the panes. They are sealed permanently together to keep the heat trapped inside your home.

8. Motion Sensor Light Bulbs

It’s easy to get in the habit of leaving the lights on even when you have left the room. This results in the usage of unnecessary energy and can quickly increase your electrical bill. By using motion sensor light bulbs, you can save on your energy bill. They will detect when no one is in the room and automatically turn off after a certain amount of time.

9. Composting

You can help to protect the environment by composting old food and table scraps. Purchase a recycling bin for fruits and vegetables that have become over ripe and toss in leftover foods from your meals. You can use this organic waste as compost for the plants in your garden.

10. Collect Rain Water

Every year you receive an abundance of rain. Instead of being an annoyance, the weather can be used to your advantage by helping to protect the environment and save on your water bill. Collect the rain in a water barrel or water butt that is attached to your external drainpipe. When the water butt is full, you can use the rain water you have collected to water your garden.

Just by making some of these changes, you can help to protect the environment while saving on your energy bill. To help more with your savings, search online for a Carbon Footprint Calculator.

How to Build a Composter

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Have you been searching for plans to build a homemade composter? Well we have the perfect solution, today we are writing about how to build a composter using materials from any local hardware store, and the best part is, it costs less than $30!

How to Build a Composter

Materials List:

For this project you will need the following…

• 5 Gallon Plastic Bucket with Lid
• 1 Can of Black Spray Paint
• Two Metal Stakes (pre-drilled)
• Candy (Optional)
• 2 x 2 inch bolts with washers and nuts

We bought all of the above at our local Home Depot and it cost less than $30, that included an optional candy bar to fuel our energy levels! Here is our receipt;

Composter Materials Receipt

Many of the materials could be found in your garage already so be sure to check whether you can re-use some existing materials found at home.

Construction:

Once you have the project materials the first step is to detach the metal handle from the bucket.

Remove the Handle From the Bucket

Now we can drill a selection of holes in the bucket to allow oxygen to reach our compostable mixture inside (this accelerates the composting process).

Drill Holes in the Bucket

Once you have a number of holes drilled the next stage is to attach the metal stakes to the bucket using bolts, washers and nuts.

Insert a bolt through the metal stake and into the hole in the bucket where the handle used to fit;

Attach the Bucket to the Posts

Attach Both Posts to Bucket

We bought our pre-drilled metal stakes in the fencing department of the hardware store and they made the project much easier but you could use some wooden stakes.

Now we can find a sunny spot in the garden and test the homemade composter by placing both stakes into the ground.

Test Fit the Composter in a Sunny Spot

To boost your composting power you will need to spray paint the bucket a dark color, we used black spray paint, this will allow the suns energy to heat up the composter much faster.

Paint the Composter Black

Note: We remove the composter from the ground and laid it on some old cardboard boxes to perform the spray painting process.

The Finished Homemade Composter

The final stage is to spray paint the lid for the bucket and attach it to the homemade composter;

The Finished Homemade Composter

The design allows you to easily add your compostable fruit and vegetable waste and the bolts allow the composter to be rotated everyday to get more air into the compostable mixture. The composting process will be accelerated by the aeration and the heat generated by leaving the compost bin out in a sunny spot.

We hope you enjoyed our “How to Build a Composter Guide” and we hope you try making your own version of this simple homemade composter. If you do build a composter we would love to hear from you, let us know your composting experiences.