New Zealand is a beautiful country with a strong commitment to sustainability. Many of us feel a powerful connection to the gorgeous plants, animals and environment around us. If you’re someone who values the natural world, you may be interested in building a lovely eco-friendly house in NZ.
More and more Kiwis are choosing to build eco-friendly homes, and for good reason. Eco-friendly homes are better for the environment and better for your health. Plus, they can strengthen your bond with nature and help you live a more wholesome life.
A Few Amazing Ways You Can Make Your Home More Eco-Friendly
If you’re thinking about building a new home, there are a number of things that you can do to make it more environmentally friendly and sustainable:
Choose A Sustainable Location. Aside from choosing the right materials and construction methods, your location can also impact how well you can live while reducing your impact on nature.
Eco-friendly NZ houses can be built in locations that are closer to things like public transportation, shops you frequent and other amenities. Living near these places will lower your reliance on cars and make it easier to walk, bike or take public transportation to where you need to go.
This can reduce your carbon footprint by eliminating the emissions you’d produce by driving everywhere. Plus, getting out and walking or biking more can help you stay in shape.
Use Sustainable Materials. There are many sustainable building materials available, such as recycled wood, bamboo, cork and locally sourced timber. These materials are better for the environment and can help reduce energy consumption in your NZ eco-friendly house.
When choosing your materials, you should first consider materials that are fit for their purpose. They should have all the qualities required for whatever you need them for. For example, timber is a great choice for flooring because it’s natural and it’s durable, so it can last for a long time.
Secondly, it should be as eco-friendly as possible. It should be non-toxic, renewable, sustainably sourced and either recyclable or biodegradable when it’s eventually done serving its purpose.
Finally, it should also be aesthetically pleasing. Consider the aforementioned points first, and then make sure you find materials that look incredible for your new NZ eco-friendly house.
Insulate Your Home Properly. Insulating your home is one of the best ways to reduce your energy consumption. Insulation will make your home cooler during the hot summer and warmer in the winter, thus reducing the energy needed to control your home’s temperature. This can also save you money on heating and cooling costs.
Make sure you insulate the walls, roof and floors of your home.
Install Energy-Efficient Appliances And Fixtures. Energy-efficient products and appliances can help you save money on your energy bills. Pay attention to energy efficiency when purchasing new appliances, lighting solutions and anything else that runs on electricity.
Install A Solar Power System. Solar panels will let you gather your own energy from the sun, which can save you plenty of money on your monthly energy bills and reduce your carbon footprint.
Depending on the type of solar power system you purchase, you can also install a battery system to store excess energy for use at night. Solar energy is a wonderful investment that can seriously benefit you in the long run.
Consider Passive Design Principles. Passive design principles use the natural elements of the sun, wind and rain to heat and cool your home. For example, you can use strategically placed windows to let in sunlight in the winter to help naturally heat your home. Then, you can use blackout curtains or blinds to shut this light out during the summer.
You can use natural ventilation to efficiently cool your home in the summer and enhance the indoor-outdoor flow in your eco-friendly NZ home.
What You Can Do To Continue Living Sustainably
Once your home is completed, there are still many things you can do to improve how environmentally friendly you are in your daily life.
Continue searching for good ways to enhance how you live. For instance, consider composting your food scraps and using the compost for nutrient-rich soil for a lovely garden. You can plant beautiful trees and shrubs to shade your home and improve your property’s appearance.
Or, you could use that compost to plant beautiful bee-friendly flowers that help your local bee population.
Even after your gorgeous new eco-friendly NZ home is finished, there are so many things we can all do to make the world a better place.
What You Can Do To Ensure Your Gorgeous New Home Is As Sustainable As Possible
At Touchwood Solidwood Homes, we’ll help you transform your dream home into reality. We’d love to help you create a magnificent new home that’s as environmentally friendly as it is beautiful. We have plenty of house plans available for you to look through, and we can also discuss custom home plans with you.
To learn more, you can visit our Touchwood Solidwood Homes site for details. You can call our team directly on 094278379 if you have any questions for us.
Live your life happily and sustainably with a stunning home built by Touchwood Solidwood Homes.
