Building eco-friendly homes can be a great way of playing your part in saving the planet. At the moment, the world is grappling with issues of climate change and global warming as a result of increased carbon emissions. The emissions have been caused by human activities and it seems that a lot of people are now more rapidly becoming environmentally conscious. Reducing carbon emissions and increasing environmental conservation starts at the individual level and in fact, living in a eco-friendly home can play a big role.
“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed.” - Mahatma Gandhi
What Is An Eco-Friendly House?
What exactly is an eco-friendly house? What does it mean to build in an eco-friendly manner? Well, there are a number of things that can make a home eco-friendly. Just to define the term, an eco-friendly house is a house built using sustainable or environmentally friendly materials. It is a house that is designed to be both water and energy efficient. This can be achieved by:
- Using less resources
- Using renewable energy
- Producing fewer emissions
- Green technology
- Taking up less space
Over the last few years, the growth of environmental consciousness has led to the high demand for homes that meet this criteria. Homeowners who already own properties have spent lots of money on home improvement in order to make their homes eco-friendly. And why not, eco-friendly homes don’t just save the plant but they also reduce energy and water costs leading to lower bills every month.
What Are Some Of The Cool Eco-Friendly Houses?
Designers and architects all over the world have been debating strategies and discussing various methods and materials over the years trying to come up with eco-friendly home designs.
These designers have done a great job and here are some of the most popular eco-friendly home designs at the moment:
ZEB Pilot House
The ZEB Pilot House is an experimental home design created by global architectural firm Snoheter. The biggest advantage with the design is energy efficiency. It has powerful solar panels capable of running the home. And that is not all. The solar panels on the concept house can generate three times more electricity than is needed so there is enough surplus to charge an electric vehicle in the process. There is also a rainwater collection system which is an amazing water sink technology for saving water and also an efficient heat exchanger. Even though it’s still a concept, it would be a great catch for people looking for the best eco-friendly home. If you're looking to make your current home more eco-friendly, you can hook up these solar panels to just about any electrical source.
Blooming Bamboo
The house is also another concept home that has been created by Vietnamese architects. It’s actually an energy efficient, low-income home that requires very little to build. The house is designed using bamboo fiber boards and some coconut leaves. It is also a flood-proof design that can withstand floods of up to 5 feet in depth. What makes the Blooming Bamboo a good pick for this list is the design simplicity and the low cost of materials needed to build it. In fact, the cost of building the Blooming Bamboo is just $2,500. This simply tells you that it will also take less time, less equipment, and fewer personnel.
Slip House
The Slip House is developed by Carl Turner Architects and it’s a great concept for sustainable and affordable family homes, especially in the UK. The design is pretty simple, it features three slipped orthogonal box shapes, one over the other. The Slip House comes with a copper rainwater collection system, solar panels already installed, and mechanical ventilation. It also features high-quality insulation.
Just to give you a clear picture of just how energy efficient and eco-friendly the Slip House is, it saves up to 1.2 tons of CO2 each year. Now that is what you call reducing your carbon footprint! Even though the design is not yet refined, the architects behind the concept are hopeful that they can be able to roll out the slip house concept soon. The home will largely appeal to people looking for simple homes with simple designs that won’t cost much.
The environment is the lifeline of everything that breaths on this planet. It is important for people to do whatever they can to save it through eco-friendly lifestyles. And living in a cool eco-friendly home can be a great start. After all, the aim here is to reduce our carbon footprint and if it means changing how we design and build homes, then so be it. Alternatively, you can start small and buy these great solar lights from Amazon.
