
Building Your Dream, Green Home
As the environment drastically changes around us, we are becoming more and more conscious of our carbon footprints and the effects of global warming than ever before. When you build a green home, you’re not only reducing the effects of building on the planet, you’re adding many energy saving benefits that save you money, too.
There are several aspects to consider when building your dream home that to encourage environmentally-friendly living. Keep in mind that the initial cost of green home solutions may be costly, but will save you money in the long run.
- Direction
Avoid building your house facing west. This results in minimal sun exposure and will encourage you to use less energy in keeping your home cool during the summer months.
- Green Building Materials
As you begin to work with our Omega Homes’ staff and architects, you can choose to use sustainable building materials for every aspect of your home, including: structure, roof, flooring, cabinets and even insulation. Recycled materials like glass, plastic and lumber are readily available, and you can customize parts of your home with linoleum, bamboo and cork, which are all natural materials.
- Solar Panels
Although a costly upgrade, solar panels are one of the main clean and renewable sources of energy, which far outweighs the initial costs in installation. Our architects will guide you in determining the best location for solar panel installation so that you may harness the sun’s power and significantly reduce the amount of electricity you’d otherwise need. Plus, there are government incentives and tax breaks available to homeowners who use solar panels to power their homes.
- Eco-Electrical
Keeping your electricity eco-friendly can be tricky, but doable. LED and compact fluorescent lighting use the least amount of electricity to keep your green home bright.
- Windows
Insulating your windows with argon gas and adding low-emissivity coating will help maintain your indoor air temperature and significantly reduce the amount of energy you use to heat or cool your home. Argon gas does not corrode your windows the way oxygen does, which saves you money in window-replacements down the line. And special Low-E glazes will not only reflect infrared light into your home to keep it warm, they will also selectively prevent certain elements of the light spectrum from entering your home, effectively maintaining a cooler indoor temperature.
- Green Home Comfort Systems
When it comes to HVAC systems and other home comfort aspects, choose high-efficiency models for the highest energy savings and lowest environmental impact. Keep up with regular maintenance and professional repairs to ensure best performance. You can also install smart thermostats that will monitor your presence at home and adjust your furnace and air conditioning to work only as needed.
There are many other ways to build a high-functioning green home, and our Omega Homes expert staff is here to help. From tankless water heaters and rainwater harvesting to landscaping and geothermal energy, we can assess your needs work together to make your dream home a reality.
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