Are you concerned about the effects of climate change on our planet? Are you looking for ways to reduce the amount of natural resources you expend on a daily basis? And, of equal importance, are you interested in remodeling your home? If you answered yes to these questions, then you’ll be happy to hear that one solution encompasses them all: green home design.
Green home design considers the needs of nature when constructing dwellings for people. It also aims to improve living conditions for people by limiting or eliminating exposure to dangerous substances and chemicals. Finally, green home design facilitates the occasion to start fresh with your house’s form and functionality.
So, if you’re planning to remodel your home and don’t want to harm the environment or your family in the process, then learn more about Cleveland green home design today.
Contents
- Green Home Design Throughout Your House
- Green Renovations in Your Kitchen
- Eco-friendly Remodeling in Your Bathroom
- Green Renovations in Your Laundry Room
- Green Home Design from Your Local Home Remodeling Company
Green Home Design Throughout Your House
Complete a Professional Energy Audit
The first step for improving your home’s resourcefulness is to conduct an energy audit. An energy audit will reveal how you can increase the energy efficiency of your home by considering factors such as:
- Your local climate
- Your home’s micro-climate
- Site conditions
- The state of your current heating and cooling environment
- Your energy needs
With the results of your energy audit, you can determine the best ways to:
- Reduce your utility bills
- Lower your home maintenance costs
- Enhance your physical comfort
- Dampen noise levels
Your local utility company may supply you with an energy audit. Or, you can solicit a trained energy expert in your area. They can accomplish much of the energy audit via computer simulation.
Lastly, a professional home energy audit should also detail any local state incentives and tax breaks you should receive for energy-saving home modifications. That way, you can make the most relevant Cleveland Heights green home design modifications and spend less money on them.
Install Energy-efficient Doors and Windows
As you can imagine, the openings into your house can be some of the worst culprits for energy waste. Therefore, if you want to incorporate green home design into your house, then energy-efficient doors and windows are the way to go.
Green Home Design Doors
If your exterior door is worn or cracked or not known to be energy-efficient, then replacing it with an Energy-Star certified exterior door is the most energy-efficient and cost-effective thing to do.
The most energy-efficient and durable doors are well-insulated (not hollow) fiberglass and steel. Fiberglass doors are more attractive, and, unlike steel doors, they don’t sweat when exposed to cold or moisture. However, fiberglass doors are more expensive than steel doors and less impregnable.
Steel doors can rust if not treated properly or exposed to the elements. But otherwise, they are a great option, as they are cheaper, stronger, and more energy-efficient than fiberglass doors.
Both fiberglass and steel doors offer outstanding returns on your investment. Exterior fiberglass doors average a 77.8% ROI, while exterior steel doors average a 75% ROI.
Wooden doors are also energy-efficient, but they can be more expensive and more high-maintenance. So, thankfully, wooden doors are not the only way to encase your house in Shaker Heights green home design.
Green Home Design Windows
Windows can be another big energy suck. So, replacing them with more energy-efficient versions is good for your wallet and our world.
Double-paned windows with low-emissivity coatings and a vacuum-sealed argon fill are the favorites in the energy-saving industry. Dual-pane glass provides almost twice as much insulation as single-pane glass. What’s more, low-E glass coatings layered inside the glass reflect both summer heat and winter cold in order to retain interior cooling and heating, respectively. Low-e coatings can help you save up to 33% in heating and cooling costs. These coatings also block harmful UV rays to prevent fading. Finally, vacuum-sealed argon gas inserted between the windowpanes reduces heat transfer to make your windows even more energy-efficient.
Materials for energy-efficient windows include wood, vinyl, aluminum, fiberglass, or a combination of materials. Wood boasts the best insulation but is also more expensive, demanding, and prone to damage. Vinyl windows are less expensive and come in different colors, but some people don’t like the look. Aluminum windows aren’t the highest performing, but they are practical in rainy, humid, hurricane susceptible areas. Fiberglass windows can be about as strong as wood and less temperamental. What’s more, composite and wood-clad windows bring aluminum or vinyl and wood together to achieve the ideal blend of stability, aesthetics, and less maintenance. However, these windows can still endure moisture intrusion, which rots the wood.
To guarantee optimal performance of your eco-friendly windows, have professionals install them. That way, you’re sure to experience the most natural sunlight, most lovely views, and lowest energy bills.
Try Environmentally Friendly Paint or Wallpaper
Eco-friendly homes don’t consist solely of the big, energy-efficient elements. They also comprise the smaller, more detailed designs of the home as well. Therefore, to fully commit to Solon green home design, at some point, you’ll have to shift your focus to the finishes in your house. Specifically, you should plan to coat your walls, ceilings, trim, and furniture in wallpaper and paints that are safe for people and the planet.
Typically, paint contains volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that can continue off-gassing for years. This off-gassing contributes to air pollution and can cause respiratory problems. For instance, traditional paint is not safe for the eyes, nose, or throat. And, it can cause difficulty breathing, induce nausea, and harm the nervous system and other organs. What’s more, low or zero VOC paint is more durable and easier to clean up. Therefore, you can do better by your body and your house by using low or zero VOC paint instead of standard paint.
If your green home design calls for wood furniture, select pieces topped with natural, shellac, or water-based finishes. Natural wood finishes are made from beeswax or plant-based materials, and shellac comes from insects.
When you want to make a bold statement on one wall in a room or all of them, you can do so in an eco-friendly way by working with sustainable and non-toxic wallpaper. A host of companies create fun and fabulous wallpapers that encompass environmentally friendly materials and leave harmful chemicals out of the process. With these wallpapers, you won’t have to skimp on style to save on safety.
Install Non-toxic, Eco-friendly Flooring
Flooring is a major feature in your home. Unfortunately, many types of flooring are also major polluters. But thankfully, you can find plenty of healthy and eco-friendly flooring materials on the market as well. That way, you can avoid injuring your family and our forests with your flooring.
If you want wood underfoot and in the rest of the world as well, then you’ll appreciate sustainable wood flooring. Hardwoods such as Brazilian cherry and white tigerwood grow in wall-managed, replanted forests in South America. As a fast-growing species, tigerwood is a more sustainable alternative to ipe wood, which grows more slowly. Furthermore, Brazilian cherry is actually part of the legume family. As an engineered wood made from three-ply construction with formaldehyde-free adhesives, it is more resilient and harder than oak.
Another way to enjoy wood flooring without taking down any more trees is with bamboo flooring. Bamboo is actually a grass that grows very quickly, mostly in China. It does not need to be replanted after harvesting, as it continues to grow. Therefore, bamboo is a resilient, renewable resource that comes in various shades and colors, ensuring that your floors can be just as beautiful as they are bountiful.
Not sure if you want the wood look? Then investigate linoleum flooring. Linoleum flooring is made from linseed oil, a binding agent collected from pine trees (without bothering the trees). Linoleum also utilizes ground limestone, jute, and renewable wood products. Along with coming in a vast assortment of attractive colors and patterns, linoleum is also stain-resistant, biodegradable, and impervious to water.
Choose Natural, Renewable, and Recycled Building Materials
Green renovations in Hudson give you the opportunity to make your house eco-friendly from top to bottom. To get it done, you’ll want to bring as many natural, renewable, and recycled materials into your remodel as possible.
Some natural and renewable building substances that are both popular and accessible include solid wood, bamboo, glass, concrete, hemp, cork, wool, and straw. Additionally, plastic, wood, and steel are common reclaimed and recycled building mediums.
When you update your house with materials like these, you’re shrinking your environmental footprint. Often, you’re also producing a more pleasant and innocuous home as well.
Green Renovations in Your Kitchen
Update Your Kitchen
If your kitchen is old, outmoded, unstylish, or dysfunctional, then you already have a few good reasons to complete some kitchen remodeling. However, if you need yet another benefit of overhauling your kitchen, then you’ll find it in eco-friendliness.
The kitchen accounts for a plethora of materials and a team of appliances. Consequently, this room will afford you a number of occasions to lower toxicity levels, reduce waste, preserve energy, and embrace nature. Remodeling your kitchen is one of the best ways to generate green home design, so you don’t have to feel guilty for doing something extravagant. Instead, you should feel proud to be able to improve the image and operation of your kitchen for the sake of the people and planet you love.
Installing Eco-Friendly Kitchen Cabinets
One thing you definitely don’t want to ignore during the eco-friendly remodeling of your kitchen is details. The materials and finishes of every component in your kitchen could be unsafe for your family or the earth if you’re not careful to keep them non-toxic and sustainable.
For example, the plywood used in kitchen cabinet construction can contain formaldehyde, a known carcinogen. Therefore, to escape threatening encounters with carcinogens, you should install custom-built solid wood cabinets or recycled wood cabinets instead. Pre-finished solid wood cabinets are even better, as finishing them beforehand keeps the chemicals from stains and topcoats out of your house.
Install Eco-friendly Kitchen Countertops
Like cabinets, countertops cover another large amount of area in your kitchen. And like cabinets, countertops can be hazardous to your health and the health of the earth. So, in order to make green renovations in your kitchen, you’ll want to vet the material of your countertops for eco-friendliness and zero toxicity.
Countertop materials that you’ll want to skip include plastic laminate, granite and natural stone that require sealing, and ceramic tiles that haven’t been made in the U.S. These materials can contain carcinogens, trace radioactive elements, and hazardous “forever chemicals.” Some of them also come from non-renewable (granite and natural stone) or slowly renewable resources (trees).
Some more safe and sustainable countertop materials to choose from would be recycled glass slabs, paper composite, FSC-certified wood, bamboo, or reclaimed wood, recycled glass tile, recycled aluminum, and non-porous stone surfaces.
Switching to eco-friendly kitchen cabinets and countertops are just some of many safe and sustainable house ideas for your kitchen. However, discovering all of your green kitchen options can be tricky unless you work with a Certified Kitchen Designer (CKD). A CKD from a professional kitchen remodeling company can point out all of the harmless and healthy possibilities for your kitchen’s green renovations, so enlist their help as soon as you can. Nailing Twinsburg green home design in your kitchen can be effective and stress-free so long as you trust the process to the pros.
Choose Energy-efficient Appliances
One of the most exciting things about infusing your kitchen with green home design in Willoughby Hills is the chance to upgrade your appliances. Although many energy-saving appliances are more expensive than the standard versions, they both last longer and lower your energy bills during that time. Therefore, they’re a worthy investment due to the benefits to your family and our planet. So, how can you make sure that you’re getting the most energy-efficient model of each kitchen appliance? Check for the EnergyStar label.
Green Home Design Dishwashers
One appliance on which the EnergyStar label makes a big difference is the dishwasher. Energy-efficient dishwashers use about one-third of the water that models from the year 2000 use. In fact, according to EnergyStar, your new dishwasher will save almost 4,000 gallons of water over its lifetime. That amount of water would fill about 20 hot tubs! These dishwashers rely on more efficient jets and are also able to adjust their wash cycle depending on how dirty their contents are.
And did you know that doing the dishes with the dishwasher calls for less water than doing the dishes by hand? It’s true. Handwashing your dishes can involve 27 gallons of water, whereas cleaning a load of dishes in an EnergyStar dishwasher consumes only 3 gallons. Plus, EnergyStar dishwashers aren’t just efficient; they’re also stylish, as they come in a large array of designs and colors so that you can coordinate them perfectly with the design of your kitchen.
Green Home Design Refrigerators
A steady stream of new technology is constantly washing over home appliances. As a result, most of the machines in your kitchen now come with exciting functions that enable them to keep up with your busy lifestyle. For example, Samsung has a line of refrigerators that are both environmentally friendly and tech-savvy. These refrigerators come in a wide range of designs, such as side-by-side and four-door, and many feature touch screens that can connect to your other electronic devices. So, you can sync your refrigerator with your virtual assistant and even tell your refrigerator to take photos of its components. That way, you can stay up to date with your foodstuffs and never overbuy again!
Green Home Design Ovens
Another green home design appliance with which you can recondition your kitchen is an oven. Gas ovens are more energy-efficient than electric ovens, and self-cleaning styles save even more energy. Along with being energy-efficient, gas ovens reduce cook time, and self-cleaning ovens keep the heat where it’s meant to be.
When you start your eco-friendly remodeling, you’ll find a wealth of ways to apply green home design to your kitchen. Some of them don’t even demand that much effort. For instance, you can equip your kitchen with a designated recycling area. No matter how large or small the spot is, it will encourage you to recycle common products while taking some of the hassle out of the process. And it’s a simple addition: you just need three color-coded bins and a place to put them!
Install Skylights
How does green home design in University Heights keep your house bright and cheery? With sunlight, of course! Natural light is the best way to illuminate your kitchen (or any room) without flipping a switch. So, when you’re making green renovations to your kitchen or other rooms in your house, consult with a professional home remodeling company to discuss the possibility of installing more windows or a skylight. A professional home remodeling company can help you let some extra sunshine in safely and effectively.
And when the sun isn’t shining, your electric lighting can imitate its invigorating rays with LED bulbs. LED bulbs are almost 25 times more efficient than CFL or incandescent bulbs, so they’re the greenest way to illuminate your kitchen on a cloudy day. And when you use dimmers to control the amount of light you receive, you can save even more money and energy.
Eco-friendly Remodeling in Your Bathroom
Opt for Low-Flow Toilets and Fixtures
If you have a toilet, showerhead, or faucet that’s out of commission, then you can ensure that its replacement adheres to Pepper Pike green home design. How? By choosing a low-flow model. The function of low-flow showerheads, faucets, and toilets conserves water while also preserving water pressure. Low-flow toilets in particular reduce the amount of water consumed with every flush. Consequently, they permit you to save money and minimize water waste by about 60%.
Green Renovations in Your Laundry Room
Maximize Your Laundry Room with Custom Cabinets
Did you know? Being more organized in the laundry room actually helps you be kinder to the earth! Yes, when you empower your laundry room to do more for you, then you can cut down on the amount of work your washer and dryer do.
For example, by installing a custom cabinet system in your laundry room, you can incorporate hooks, drying racks, and clotheslines that allow you to hang clothes to dry. Custom cabinets can also contain a bin or basket system that facilitates better laundry sorting. That way, you can make the most of every load and minimize the amount of warm or hot water necessary to clean your clothes.
Swap Out for Energy-Efficient Laundry Appliances
Of course, no matter how codified your laundry room is, you’ll have to turn on the washer and dryer at some point. And when you do, you should make sure that your washer and dryer are eco-friendly versions, such as front-loading washers.
Green Home Design from Your Local Home Remodeling Company
If you’re ready to go green with eco-friendly remodeling in Beachwood, then you’re ready to work with a professional home remodeling company that specializes in designing and building healthy, environmentally friendly homes. Capozzi Design Build has the expertise and experience you need to achieve green home design in Macedonia.
As a family-owned and operated company that has been remodeling in northeast Ohio since 2004, Capozzi has hundreds of happy clients and dozens of five-star reviews. What’s more, as a third-generation cabinet maker and founder of Capozzi (along with her husband), Anne Capozzi is a Certified Kitchen Designer (CKD), Certified Aging in Place Specialist (CAPS), and Certified Living In Place Professional (CLIPP). Therefore, she knows all of the green home design tips and tricks for building a beautiful house that helps rather than hurts the world outside and the people inside.
Capozzi Design Build has taken the steps to master green home design, and they’re here to share what they’ve learned with you. So, learn more about home remodeling with Capozzi to start your green renovations today!
