About Eco Homes

Eco homes help mitigate environmental damage.

With many environmental dangers looming over our heads, many earth-conscious citizens make decisions across all aspects of their lives to reduce environmental harm. From the food we buy to our modes of transportation to how we allocate our finances, these decisions affect the environment. The design of our homes is no exception. Homes are great consumers of energy and resources. Learn about various techniques employed in eco homes that reduce the impact on the planet.

Flooring

Using recycled products for your wood floors eliminates the reliance on rare woods from endangered forests. Flooring is available from a variety of reclaimed materials. One is wood from wine barrels, offered by the company Fontenay among others. Using wood from wine barrels features markings from the original barrel for a rustic look and wood from the inside of the barrels gives the floors a wine-tinted purple look.

Wind Turbines

A long-term option for achieving sustainable energy is the use of a wind turbine that will supply electricity to your home. Wind turbines essentially work the opposite as a fan; they take wind to make electricity. The advantages of a wind turbine are that it is a clean energy that can't be depleted. Disadvantages are that wind turbines are very expensive to build and you need a large area to build one. They are nearly impossible to set up if you are living in an urban area.

Windows

Windows have a large stake in the energy efficiency of your eco home. Heat is easily transferred through glass and therefore much heat is lost through the window. Most energy-efficient windows use a standard glazing package that includes low-E insulated glass, and are more energy efficient than windows from the 1980s or the '90s. Many homeowners also use double-paned windows to minimize heat loss in the winter.

Water Conservation

High water use and a growing population have led to water scarcity. Many simple techniques as well as more advanced ones can drastically reduce the water usage in your home. Low water capacity toilets, flow restrictors on shower heads and faucet aerators are quite common in homes. Further ways to up your water conservation are using gray water from bathing and clothes washing to water plants and using composting toilets.

Building Materials

The use of green building materials can not only help the environment but reduce long-term costs to you. Seeking out green materials promotes the conservation of resources that are dwindling internationally. Also, using green materials can reduce the environmental impact associated with the extraction, processing and transportation of traditional materials. You can use green materials in all aspects of home building and maintenance from the basement to the attic. Discuss with a green energy consultant on how to obtain these materials.

References

• Iklim: Water Conservation
• Iklim: Wind Turbines
• Eco home Magazine