Four Key Questions About Eco Homes Answered
Living in an eco home can be very beneficial to you. Not sure what they are? Keep reading and find the answers to four key questions about these structures…
1. What Are Eco Homes?
An eco home — sometimes referred to as a green home — is a residential building which has been specially designed and built to have a very low impact on the environment, and therefore have a low carbon footprint, as well as low energy needs. This is achieved through the use of materials and items such as layered glass for thermal insulation, solar panels for a renewable energy source, and even wind turbines.
2. What’s the Benefit of Having an Eco Home?
Having an energy efficient home will provide you with many advantages. These can be separated into three different categories:
Physical and Mental Health Advantages:
It’s been documented and proven that living in a green building can have a significant effect on your health and general outlook. Elements such as natural lighting and chemical-free building materials create an environment with high air quality and natural regulation of temperature. These factors will give you a sense of well-being.
Financial Advantages:
While more costly to build initially, eco homes are almost guaranteed to return your investment — this will come in the form of greater energy efficiency, lower maintenance requirements, a higher property value, as well as tax incentives provided by local councils.
Environmental Advantages:
An eco home will produce less waste, conserve more water, and emit less chemicals into the atmosphere than a regular home.
3. What Are Some Examples of Eco Homes?
Some successful pieces of green architecture that are inhabited today include:
Joshua Park
Located in Bodwin in Cornwall this eco home was self-built with locally sourced, natural materials and cost about £81,000 to construct — it’s now worth approximately £500,000. It’s creator Joshua Penk did most of the work himself and didn’t use any heavy machinery or scaffolding to get the job done. He used wool and straw for the insulation, posts made from Douglas Fir trees, low grade concrete for the foundations, and other similar products to ensure the finished structure was as environmentally friendly as possible. The crown Jewel of this particular eco home however was the green roof — a special breathing roof consisting of a water-resistant bitumen board, rubber-based liner, and battens. Plants now grow on this roof.
Marsh House
Found in The Meadows in Nottingham this green home was designed to adapt to the seasons as they came and went. Designed by architect Julian Marsh, the property has features such as a ground source heat pump which draws energy from the sandstone deposits that lie approximately seventy meters underneath the home. While translucent walls and white floors allow as much natural light in as possible which lessens the need for the artificial kind.
Gwen An Mor Resort Lodge
Built in Portreath on the north Cornish coast this eco home is a massive 44% more energy efficient than the current standard desired by the government. This was achieved through the installation of air-to-water pumps which power both the heating and air conditioning.
4. How Can You Make Your House an Eco Home?
The following renewable energy sources can be used to make your home into an environmentally friendly one:
Solar Power
Use panels which will absorb the suns energy. The resulting power can be used to heat water and generate electricity.
Wind Power
Turbines can be mounted on the roof of your home, they’ll absorb energy from wind, and then provide you with electricity.
Plant and Animal Waste Products
These biomass products can be burned to power your home’s heating.
Heat Pumps
These pumps extract energy from the ground, water, and air. This energy is then converted in such a way that it can be used to heat both your entire residence and water.
The industry standard materials required to make these adjustments to your home can be purchased from the various manufacturers and suppliers found on WorldBuild365 — a massive online directory.
