Eco-Friendly Houses - Energy Efficient Homes Green Eco Friend

Everything has an impact on the environment, and our homes aren’t an exception. We all need to reduce our impact, whether we look at that as individuals or as part of a corporation. Thankfully modern construction materials and technology can all help towards eco-friendly houses. Using renewable energy for energy efficient homes is just one way to reduce the impact of your household. Be part of a growing community of people who care about our planet and start with making a few changes around your home.

Eco-Friendly Houses; Energy Efficiency

What is an Energy Efficient Home?

There are different types of eco-friendly houses and they are normally classified in 5 categories:

Low Energy House applies modern insulation standards and low-temperature heating to reduce energy consumption.
Passive House has a maximum consumption of 15 KW or 1.5 litres of fuel oil per square metre a year for heating energy.
Zero Energy House, also known as a self-sufficient house, is a house that doesn’t depend on an external energy source.
Solar Sun House is another type which can be both self-sufficient or even energy-plus, and obtains its complete energy needs from solar energy.
Energy Plus House not only needs external energy, but produces more energy as it consumes.

What Construction Materials Are Used For an Energy Efficient Home?

Most buildings are made of concrete because it’s durable and protects us from the elements.

But Concrete…

“is said to be responsible for 4-8% of the world’s CO2. Among materials, only coal, oil and gas are a greater source of greenhouse gases.”
is responsible for almost a tenth of all industrial water use
“adds to the heat-island effect by absorbing the warmth of the sun and trapping gases from car exhausts and air-conditioner units”
“worsens the problem of silicosis and other respiratory diseases”
uses sand and “even the acquisition of sand can be catastrophic – destroying so many of the world’s beaches and river courses that this form of mining is now increasingly run by organised crime gangs and associated with murderous violence.”
“destroys natural infrastructure without replacing the ecological functions that humanity depends on for fertilisation, pollination, flood control, oxygen production and water purification”

You can read more about the environmental impact of concrete in “Concrete: the most destructive material on Earth”

When we’re talking about eco-friendly houses, what materials are used in the construction is important to consider. Although there are many ways to construct an eco-friendly home, mostly you will find wooden or half-timbering constructions. Sustainable wood sources guarantee healthy homes without any negative impact to the environment. Always look for FSC certification.

Houses entirely made of solid wood or that use scrap wood for insulation show what is possible with one of the oldest construction materials and the newest research. High efficient houses are equipped with high-tech heating and ventilation technology, producing more energy as they consume.

Which Renewable Energies To Use For An Eco-Friendly House?

To construct a healthy and natural house also means to take care of the environment by reducing your household energy consumption as much as possible. For that you should reduce fuel oil or natural gas consumption to a bare minimum or, even better, avoid these fossil energy sources completely.

Today’s advanced technology makes it possible to reach this goal with a wide range of different possibilities:

Solar Energy

Solar Energy plays a key role on the way to a self-sufficient home. There are different ways to use it for heating and lighting.

Solar Systems

Solar Systems are formed by solar panels flooded by a special liquid which captures the heat of the solar radiation and transports it to a hot water heater or a heating buffer tank, where it is stored for several days to heat the water and the house. High efficient heating systems are required to take advantage of solar power.

Photovoltaic Systems

Photovoltaic Systems are made of high-tech photovoltaic panels which convert solar energy to electricity. The big advantage is that electric current, different to solar heating, can be stored almost endlessly in batteries or be fed into the public power grid. This means you can store the required energy even for rainy and dark days.

Air Source Heat Pumps

Air Source Heat Pumps take advantage of heat energy which is present in the ambient air. It only needs a power connector and extracts energy even on cold days to warm water and heating elements. This kind of heating is perfect for smaller houses and houses without basements because of the small space required for installation.

Geothermal Heating

Geothermal Heating works even more efficiently. It withdraws heat from the earth which even during the harshest winters never reaches frost temperatures and is normally 10 degrees warmer on average than the ambient air. This temperature difference can be used by a heat pump to heat your house and water. Only horizontal or vertical tubes with a special liquid need to be installed in the terrain.

Fuel Cell

Fuel Cell is the most advanced technology yet. Natural gas is used in the fuel cell to produce both heat energy and electricity. It is a very clean and efficient way to supply your house with all the energy it requires. It’s even completely free from maintenance due to the fact that it’s a closed system.

Gas Condensing Technology

Gas Condensing Technology helps traditional heating systems to improve efficiency. It takes advantage of the heat energy which contains the condensation of escaping gases. If you don’t want to change your complete heating system it could be worth modifying your system in this way to reduce your consumption of fossil sources up to 20%.

Pellet Heating

Pellet Heating may be another alternative for eco-friendly and cosy heating at home. You can choose an automatic fired central heating system or a woodburning stove in the living room to fill the house with comfortable and cost-effective heat.

How Do Eco-Friendly Houses Save You Money?

After the initial cost of installing an energy efficient power source your ongoing costs should be a lot less. It’s wrong to say that energy efficient homes are more expensive than traditional houses, even though that’s what many people believe. Because of the push towards a more eco-friendly way of life, eco-friendly homes are available for competitive prices.

You have to be aware about the monthly maintenance costs of a house, including the energy costs. With increasing costs of fossil fuel energies, reducing overall energy consumption and looking for renewable energy sources becomes more important. Using an innovative energy source and a highly efficient house can be a good way to save money.

A low-temperature heating system only makes sense in combination with an optimised energy-efficient method of building. Passive or self-sufficient houses need to be constructed from adequate materials and with very good insulation to avoid heat loss, especially in winter time. Wood has been proven for centuries as a healthy construction material with the best insulation capacity, which can be improved further by using scrap wood inside of the exterior walls.

Also a low energy house needs to be equipped with an intelligent domestic ventilation system that recovers the heat from the interior air before it leaves to avoid ventilation loss due to uncontrolled manual ventilation.

Eco-friendly houses can care for both the environment and your wallet.

About the author

Following nature’s example, Baufritz has been planning and constructing ecologically sustainable buildings for over 120 years. High-quality, pollutant-tested building and insulation materials are used to create individual architect’s houses that protect people and the environment.