Building green homes that are energy efficient or even energy independent has become quite popular in today’s day and age. More and more people are quickly becoming aware of how much our energy consumption has affected the Earth. Add to this the problem of increasing energy costs and the rapid depletion of fossil fuels and we have quite a problem on our hands. There are a number of angles which we can take when it comes to the energy efficiency of our homes. Let’s take a look at a few of the approaches we can take.
There are many ways to approach the topic of energy efficiency or energy independence. There are four alternate sources to choose from here, the sun, water, wind and the earth. The sun would be solar energy, the earth would be geothermal energy and the other 2 are pretty obvious. Let’s first take a look at geothermal energy.
The best way of using geothermal energy is by including water into the mix. Sending some simple pipelines a few feet underground and then circulating them through your home and back underground is a great way of heating and cooling your home as well as its water all in one go. This technology has been used in a number of homes in Texas and north Canada too. It’s a terrific example of a green building. Houses with this technology can run off the grid without any trouble in terms of air and water heating or cooling is concerned.
Solar power can be both active and passive. Active solar power, which is more common and energy efficient as compared to a decade ago, isn’t too expensive and is preferred over passive solar power which is usually structured into the structure of a home itself through the structure of the windows, the home’s shape, etc. But both these designs do not have a major effect on the environment and help to reduce our carbon footprint substantially.
Wind and water are another couple of approaches we can use whether it is a waterwheel or a simple windmill. You could even consider using both together in order to generate electricity for your home. These systems may require some batteries like the ones you use in your car for storing the energy that is created.
Using all these angles individually or together can go a long way in ensuring you build a green home which is 100% energy efficient and energy independent. Living in such a home will be a true delight for sure. So if you are ready for your next remodeling project, the energy efficiency of your home is where you need to devote all of your attention.
