How to Design Environmentally Friendly Houses

Solar panels are one way to go "green."

As sustainable homes and lifestyles become increasingly popular, "green," or environmentally friendly home building supplies have become more common and cheaper than ever been before. There are a number of ways to make an environmentally friendly house, and there are alternatives and options for every economic level. It is easy to find simple ways to make your home environmentally friendly. From the building supplies you use to the types of appliances you buy, all it takes is learning to think "green."

Instructions

1. Create a blueprint for a house.

2. Look for "green" materials for the home, such as reclaimed or recycled materials from junk yards or resale stores. Examples of usable materials include wood panels, light fixtures and cabinetry.

3. Use fewer resources. You can do this by choosing energy efficient appliances such as those that have an Energy Star designation. These appliances often have lower running times and use less water. You can also heat your home with radiant floor heating, which uses water that has already been heated.

4. Create an integrated home. This means making all the parts of the home work together. Examples include gray water systems, which use water from sinks; showers and sometimes toilets, to water the garden and other outdoor areas, radiant heating, and solar panels, which can be used to produce all the electricity a home needs.

5. Use green building materials such as adobe or cob; or you can use building alternatives, which are pre-built, repurposed structures such shipping containers or even train cars that are cleaned up and converted into homes. Shipping containers can be used like blocks to build unique structures of many sizes, from small studio size building to multilevel apartment buildings.

Resources

• Green Building Elements
• Green Home Building
• CalRecycle: Green Building Materials
• Building Green: Building Materials: What Makes a Product Green?